


Dragon scales

by Lalalando



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:01:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 55,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28761480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalalando/pseuds/Lalalando
Summary: A 28 day challenge where I update with a one-shot every day based on a list of prompts.Rated for underage drinking in chapter 1 and swearing throughout.More tags will probably be added along with the chapters.
Comments: 711
Kudos: 530





	1. Alcohol

**Author's Note:**

> ...I know I said I would start publishing this in February, because, you know, it's a FEBRUARY writing challenge? 
> 
> But the situation has changed slightly... 
> 
> I've essentially lost my job because of the 'Rona. Even though it's not bad in my country it's still affecting the economy. I still have one shift a week. But... that's not enough and I need to try and do what I can to find another one.
> 
> I've already changed industries from IT/Web to retail to avoid being unemployed... but, such is life? Sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches. :) 
> 
> As far as this challenge is concerned, I've changed my timeline slightly. I don't know what the next few weeks will be like, but it's now a 28 day challenge rather than a February challenge. I'll still be aiming to publish something every day for 28 days but real life might interfere occasionally.

‘Goddess - that was close!’ Twilight exclaimed as he and Four quickly made their way back to the camp. ‘Are you ok?’

Four nodded but didn’t speak, blood from the moblin they’d killed all over his face.

They’d been caught by surprise, the monster going for the small Smithy first, as they usually did. Picking him up and flinging him down a hill without warning before lunging for Twilight with a roar.

Four’s tunic was covered in dust from his sudden roll down the sandy hill and the left side of his blonde hair was almost brown from the amount of dirt it had accumulated, a long, shallow scratch across his chest from a sharp stick that had caught him as he slid through the dust.

Furious, he’d charged back up the incline, literally _launching_ himself into the battle and grinning in fierce satisfaction when he took the moblin as much by surprise as it had him.

The two heroes combined had made quick work of the overpowered moblin but its sudden appearance had left them feeling exposed and a little shaken.

‘I need a drink of water before we tell the others.’ Twi murmured, wiping sweat from his face and quickly making his way to the small pile of canteens leaning up against a tree stump that Warriors had already filled.

Four, nodded, still wiping blood from his face. He was barely paying attention to Twilight’s words, annoyed at always, _always_ being the one monsters went for first, reduce in their simple minds to the weakest just because he was small. He was irritated that the moblin had chosen to simply throw him down a hill to dispose of, rather than fighting him with dignity.

Four reached past Twilight, grabbing a waterskin at random, popping the lid off and taking several huge gulps, desperate to wash the grime from his mouth.

‘No!’ Warriors yelled suddenly, dropping the freshly filled canteens in his arms when he saw what they were doing.

Four spluttered, face flushed a sudden, bright, red and plonked the bottle down on the ground, hands going to his throat.

'Ah!' Warriors muttered, rushing towards him, he looked guilty.

The Smithy staggered, eyes huge for a moment before with a gasp he collapsed. Unconscious before he hit the ground.

‘Four!’ Twilight exclaimed, leaning forwards to help.

The brief chaos had caught the attention of the others, who had dropped what they were doing and come to help, Hyrule instantly put his hands on Four, fingertips glowing pink, startled at the amount of moblin blood on the small young man's face and assuming he was injured. 

‘What happened? What’s wrong with him?’ Time asked striding forwards, grim eyes on the Smith. 

Warriors groaned, swiping his hand down his face at the sudden silence, he weighed the canteen that Four had been drinking from in his hand, trying to estimate how much was left.

His expression was an odd combination of sheepish and shameful.

‘What’s _wrong_ , is that Four just drank about a pint of my ale.’ The guilt was clear in his tone.

They all looked at him in surprised horror and then Legend snatched the bottle Four had been drinking from out of Warriors’ hand, taking a sniff and then a small sip.

‘Sweet goddess…’ he said sympathetically, ‘That’s _strong_. And with his size…’ he sighed, looking uncomfortable ‘He’s going to feel that one.’

Twilight glared at Warriors. ‘And _why_ , is your ale in a _water_ skin, in our _water_ pile? Where any of us including our _underage_ Smithy can mistake it for _water_?’

Warriors shrugged, looking down at the unconscious teen with regret.

‘Erm… I just put it there while I was filling the rest of the bottles, I was going to put it back in my pack with a canteen of water when I was finished. I… didn’t think it through.’

‘No.’ Time said quietly, crouching to check on Four whose head was resting in Hyrule’s lap. ‘You didn’t.’ He sighed.

Warriors hung his head.

‘Well, he’s going to feel like shit when he wakes up.’ Legend said softly. ‘Better get some cold compresses ready or something Wars, cause the kid has never had a drink in his life and just drank a whole, fucking, pint of the strongest ale the Barracks can provide.’ 

Warriors winced sympathetically and began digging through his bag.

O o O o O

Four woke slowly with a pained groan and instantly someone was at his side.

His head was pounding with a headache, throbbing in time with his heart. His thoughts were foggy and muddled, he felt _dizzy,_ sick and nauseous.

‘Ahhh…’ he breathed a hand going to his brow. ‘Did we get attacked?’

He heard a light laugh and felt something cool and wet placed over his eyes, blocking out the sun that was making his head hammer so.

‘Feels like that, doesn’t it?’ He heard Wars say softly.

Four swallowed, not willing to move in case the pounding in his head increased, the pain worst right behind his eyes. He made a confused sound and then a pained one.

‘What…happened?’

Warriors sighed. ‘You…accidentally drank some ale thinking it was water. It's my fault... I was careless.’

There was a long pause before ‘…oh.’

Another pause.

Another swallow.

‘ _Shit_.’ He said concisely. 

‘Shit indeed, Smithy.’ Warriors agreed.

He twisted his hands in his lap guiltily for a moment before reaching for one of the young man’s long-fingered hands and beginning to massage the fleshy spot between his thumb and index finger.

He had learned over the years that having something to take your mind off the pain in your head helped and the young man was always so tense.

‘And…’ Four paused and swallowed again, obviously feeling like hell. ‘And you actually _like_ this?’

Warriors sighed, ‘Nah, Four, you missed the fun part. You drank too much too fast and went right to alcohol poisoning stage.’

He reached for the other long fingered hand, gently removing the fingerless glove and massaging that one as well.

‘I’m so sorry,’ he said softly, the genuine regret clear in his voice ‘I wasn’t even thinking, I just put it there for a moment after filling the skins an-’

Four nodded slowly, teeth clenched against the pain, interrupting him. ‘It was an accident right?’

Warriors nodded then realised Four couldn’t see him.

‘Yeah. _Of course_.’ He answered quietly.

‘Then it’s fine.’ Four mumbled. ‘I’ll feel better soon. Besides, it was my fault too…’ he paused, swallowed again. ‘I was distracted, not paying attention.’

Wars looked at him in surprise.

Forgiven so easily.

He reached out and changed the cool cloth on his friend’s eyes, trying not to acknowledge the whimper of pain that came from the teen when his eyes were exposed to the muted afternoon sunlight.

‘Where are the others?’ Four asked finally.

Wars looked over his shoulder. ‘We stopped a little while back. They've set up camp and Wild is brewing some peppermint tea for you. Hopefully, that will help settle your stomach a bit.’

The young man licked his lips. ‘Do you think I could have some actual water?’

‘Oh! Yeah… hang on.’ The blue-scarfed man reached for a bottle and held it to the young man’s lips, helping him drink slowly. Four made a distressed sounding noise and put his hands over his eyes.

‘So dizzy.’ He breathed. ‘It’s awful.’

Warriors bit his lip and nodded.

He removed the signature headband and ran his hands through the smooth bob that was Four’s hair, gently removing the tangles. The young Smithy obviously needed something to ground him, to stop him feeling like he was going to spin off the earth, to remind him which way was up.

The older man began to massage the teen’s temples and instantly felt him relax.

‘That’s it.’ He encouraged. ‘Try to go back to sleep, you’ll feel better if you just sleep it off.’

Four nodded slowly, mouth dropped open and breathing beginning to deepen.

A moment later he was either asleep, or had passed out from the alcohol, Warriors wasn’t sure which. In any case, he continued to massage the Smith’s head, hoping to relieve the tension of the headache he was sure was building. The guilt was gnawing at his stomach even though Four held no ill-will towards him.

The solider had already made a note to be a lot more careful with his things in the communal areas. Four wasn’t the only underage member in the group.

Although, Wars considered with a snorted laugh, the Pirate could probably drink all of them under the table and live to tell the tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a strange experience writing something and posting it in the same day without re-reading and editing etc. I'm not sure how all of these are going to turn out... it's really interesting because you pick a direction and make a start and there isn't really time to change your mind, so the nature of the thing tells me already that some of these chapters are going to be a lot better than others.
> 
> But I think I'm going to really enjoy this and it will hopefully help me branch out a bit and make me a better writer! 
> 
> I know this isn't something that our responsible Warriors would necessarily do. But... let's just assume he had a brain-fart for the sake of the story?
> 
> Thank you for reading. Take care of yourselves! 
> 
> Lala <3


	2. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all honesty, I haven't found the first few prompts very inspiring but I've tried my best.

Twilight awoke from a deep, dreamless sleep with a gasp at a warm hand on his shoulder. He blinked rapidly for a moment, trying to force his eyes to focus. He flinched, reaching for his blade, when he saw a large, dark, silhouette next to him, relaxing when he realised it was only Time, outlined against the low burning fire. 

‘Sorry, Pup.’ The older breathed. ‘I knew you’d never forgive me if you didn’t see this.’

Twilight rubbed his eyes and sat up, trying to shake the lingering grogginess away.

Every member of the group, for various reasons, had trouble sleeping, plagued as they were with memories, nightmares and insomnia. So it was an unspoken rule that if someone managed to drift off to leave them as they were.

To be woken for any reason other than imminent danger, or to change shifts for the watch was very rare.

Still bleary-eyed, Twilight cast his eyes around to see Legend and Sky sitting by the fire, both watching Time wake him with small grins on their faces, Legend gave him a cheeky two-fingered salute and a wry grin when they made eye contact. Sky simply smiling gently. He nodded back, now very confused .

The Old man placed a soft hand on his shoulder, catching his attention again and gestured, silently, for him to follow. Twilight twisted awkwardly out of his bed roll and followed Time quietly, back to the fire. Still waking, Twilight realised with a jolt that Wild was not with them.

Automatically, his eyes sought his young protégé and he gave a warm smile.

 _Oh_ , that must have been why Time woke him.

They had arrived in Twilight’s Hyrule earlier that day from Wild’s after having met the Champion nearly a week ago.

The Rancher had bonded surprisingly quickly with the scarred, quiet, young man. The two naturally seeking each other out during their time on the road, talking quietly as the young man gradually became more animated and open, slowly growing more comfortable about his place in the group.

Now, for the first time, Wild was fast asleep. The Champion actually laying down to rest, rather than propping himself against a convenient tree trunk or stealing a cat-nap in the shade of a boulder.

He was curled on his side with his hair all over his face and a hand up near his chest, breathing softly, his face calm and relaxed for perhaps the first time since they'd met.

The Champion was usually the first awake and the last to sleep, apparently needing less sleep than the rest of the group. The others, knowing that Wild’s journey had only recently ended, weren’t sure if his sleep habits were a lingering result of his adventure, or a characteristic of Wild himself, but it was both useful and exhausting.

Looking more closely at the sleeping teen, Twilight realised with a soft grin that Wild _finally_ sleeping a night through in their presence, wasn’t entirely why the old man had woken him.

It was the black and white cat, itself fast asleep, curled up against his stomach, one of the Champion’s arms laying relaxed over the top of the furry creature in a kind of half-hug, nearly hiding it from view.

He couldn’t help the surprised puff of laughter from escaping at the unexpected sight, sinking down to join the others on the logs around the low burning campfire.

‘Isn’t it just _fucking_ adorable?’ Legend asked deadpan, his quiet voice and amused eyes proving he actually meant his words.

Sky nodded, hearts in his eyes and tore his eyes away from the sleeping pair to look at Twilight apparently very pleased with the recent turn of events.

‘I was on last watch and the cat just strolled into the clearing.’ He began to explain in a soft voice.

‘It sniffed around the fireplace for a moment and then moved straight to Wild. It wiggled under his arm about 10 minutes ago and neither of them have moved since.’

His smile softened even further.

‘I was surprised enough that he was _actually sleeping_ , and then when the cat came it was just _too cute_.’ He blushed slightly.

Legend rolled his eyes. ‘The old man and I were already awake. But then Sky gave this little…’ He paused to shoot a wry look at the Skyloftian which was somehow both amused and unamused at the same time.

Sky blushed.

‘ _squeal…?_ I don’t know how else to describe the sound that came out of him, but, whatever the fuck it was, it caught our attention and the Old man thought you’d want to see, being your Hyrule and all.’

Time nodded, eye fond as he looked over Wild’s sleeping form. The cat twisted slightly, making a small high-pitched grunting sound and burying its nose under one of its front paws. Hiding its face from the dim light of the fire, the tip of its tail twitched a few times before settling. The furry beast letting out a barely audible sigh as it relaxed.

Wild continued to sleep undisturbed.

Twilight moved a hand over his mouth to hide his grin at the truly adorable image.

He was very fond of the cats of his Hyrule, seeking the friendly animals out whenever he had time.

But, for a cat to walk straight up to a stranger, let alone to curl up and sleep with one, spoke volumes about Wild’s character.

He wondered vaguely if the same quality that had attracted the cat to the young Champion was also why he and Wild had bonded so quickly.

There was a gut-instinct that sometimes came from Wolfie and gave him an insight into a person's true nature, almost like he could sniff out their intentions. It was innate, but strong, and had never led him astray. From the first moment he'd met Wild it was screaming at him that the young man could be trusted.

The Champion had awoken with no memories to a decaying landscape. Learning to hunt and survive in the wilderness in a way that had taught him to understand the importance of balance and his place in nature. That to take a life for food or to protect himself was a heavy burden and not a decision to be taken lightly.

The young man had quickly learned to only take as much as he needed, understanding that he was part of something larger and was as much a creature of the wilderness as any other animal in his land.

With a long sigh and a stretch, Wild began to stir, disturbed by their soft conversation. He lifted a hand to push back his unruly hair and let it fall towards his stomach as he woke.

His fingers inadvertently brushed the cat’s back again and he froze, suddenly tense and completely awake, when the animal made a small, friendly, noise, its amber eyes cracking open.

Slowly, _slowly_ , he removed his hand from the animal’s fur and looked down. Eyes huge as he took in the curled-up creature against his stomach that was looking at him with lazy, half-lidded eyes.

‘Morning Cub.’ Twilight said with a grin.

Wild’s eyes flew to him, the alarm clear.

‘Twilight!’ he mumbled, breathless, eyes shifting back down to the creature leaning against him, its tail flicked once, and he flinched.

‘ _What is it_? Is it dangerous?’

A ripple of laughter ran throughout the awake Heroes at his question and Twilight took pity on him.

He stood and moved towards Wild, who was still frozen, unmoving in his bedroll in case he disturbed the creature that was next to him.

The Ordonian crouched and reached out a hand, stroking the cat. It made another pleased sound and stretched its front legs, starting to purr.

‘It’s a cat.’ He explained. ‘They’re everywhere in my Hyrule. People keep them as pets.’ 

Wild turned horrified eyes to twilight. ‘ _Twi_ …’ He whispered. ‘It’s _vibrating_. Do they explode?’

A bark of laughter from Legend had Wild’s eyes flying towards the Veteran who now had his hands up in a placating gesture of surrender.

‘Sorry, sorry.’ He grinned, expression almost contrite in the face of the Champion’s obvious alarm.

Wild noticed that Sky and Time were also watching and felt himself blush inexplicably.

It was Twilight who, again, took pity. ‘No, Wild. It’s purring. Cats do that when they’re happy.’

A look of something like wonder crossed Wild’s face and he stared at the creature for a moment. He put a hand on its back and the purring increased when he began to stroke it.

A small, genuine smile, one that reached his eyes, crossed his face.

‘It’s so soft.’ He marvelled.

The cat stood and stretched, tail in the air and rubbed its head against his outstretched hand, then sat and licked its paw, rubbing it over its ears as it began to wash its face.

Wild laughed. A puff of a thing really, an amused breath of air out of his nose, but it was the first real laugh they’d heard since they’d met him.

Twilight looked at Time, stunned. The significance of Wild laughing in front of them, right after he’d decided to sleep in their presence wasn’t wasted on any of them.

It seemed that the Champion, so unused to being around others, was _finally_ beginning to trust them.

Even Legend’s signature expression of sarcasm was replaced by something slightly softer.

They all understood the difficulties of trying to piece themselves back together after an adventure, they understood how jarring it was to be sucked from their world through the swirling purple and black portals to a new land amongst strangers who looked a little too familiar for comfort and Wild had had all of that thrust on him over the course of a few days. Despite his initial paranoia, the young man had taken it all in his stride, handling the situation with far more grace than it deserved.

‘Hey Twi?’ Wild asked suddenly, eyes never leaving the animal, eyes much brighter than they had been when he woke. ‘What do cats eat?’

Twilight hummed for a moment in thought.

‘I think they like fish.’

Wild nodded, smiling when the purring creature rubbed the length of its body along his hand, ears forward and whiskers twitching in pleasure when he scratched it lightly.

A long moment passed.

‘I feel like fish.' He announced suddenly.

'I think I’ll make fish for breakfast.’ He told them with a would-be-casual tone that was obviously meant to be unrelated to the small animal he was stroking and what he had just learned about the eating preferences of cats.

Sky grinned and Legend let out another smothered bark of laughter, Time simply rolled his eyes towards the sky in fond exasperation.

Wild had learned many things since he’d woken in the shrine of resurrection, but it seemed the lack of opportunities to interact with people in his Hyrule meant subtlety wasn’t one of them.

‘Sounds good, Cub.’ Twilight managed with a straight face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a lot shorter than I thought it was going to. I know that there are some prompts that are probably going to end up much, much longer so hopefully that's alright.
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave a little note or a kudos on the last chapter. <3


	3. Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now to try something a little different *cracks knuckles*

Wild stood and brushed himself off from where the portal had dumped him in the dirt, noticing with an annoyed frown that he'd picked up a fresh grass stain on the right elbow of his under-tunic from his heavy landing. He suppressed a groan when his back gave a twinge and looked around to see if he could recognise any landmarks.

He gasped slightly.

There, glowing benignly in the distance was the unmistakable tip of one of the Sheikah towers. A small flame of excitement bubbled into his chest, overflowing into a small laugh. It would be the first time any of the others had seen his world and he couldn’t wait to see their reactions to his home.

‘We’re in my Hyrule.’ He announced to the group.

‘Fuck me.’ Wind muttered, eyes wide and moving slowly to join the others on the edge of the cliff edge to overlook the Great Plateau. ‘Wild... This is _huge_.’

‘Yup.’ Wild grinned. ‘Home sweet home.’

He beckoned to the group and then began walking down the pathway towards the field. ‘Come on, we’ll head to the stable for the night and figure out our next move there. There should be enough beds for all of us if we share.’

A cheer went through the group at the thought of sleeping in an actual bed and they fell into step behind him without argument, focused on looking around.

The awed silence continued as they rounded the bottom of the cliff and an impossibly wide field of grass and wild flowers greeted them, the long grass bending in the gentle breeze, butterflies and dragonflies hovering near the sweet-smelling blooms.

With a soft, pleased, sound Wild headed to a small grove of apple trees that had been hiding beneath the overhang of the cliff and scaled one easily, picking and throwing fresh, ripe, fruit down to his friends.

‘I think I’m beginning to understand how your stamina is so good.’ Warriors mumbled around a mouthful, eyes roaming the countryside.

Wild swung out of the tree, an apple in his mouth and eyes bright. ‘Before I caught any horses or shrines to teleport to, I had to literally run everywhere.’ He admitted thickly around a bite of fruit. ‘Sometimes for days on end.’

‘Urgh.’ Sky muttered vaguely under his breath, polishing his apple on his tunic. Slightly horrified eyes were drifting around the landscape in front of him, obviously trying to imagine traversing such a huge land.

‘Luckily, we were dropped pretty close to the Tabantha stable.’ Wild continued, starting down the pathway to the stable once again. ‘We should easily get there by nightfall.’

‘Well, thank fuck for that.’ Legend breathed, eyeing the rather intimidating distance between where they were and the mountains.

O o O o O

They had been walking for hours, enjoying themselves in a way they hadn't had a chance to for some time maintaining a steady, but easy, pace under the warm sun and cool breeze of Wild's Hyrule.. Wild had paused every now and then to point out an interesting plant or landmark and they're stopped by a small pond for a quick lunch of skewers and simmered fruit. 

They had slowly moved from the featureless expanse of Hyrule Field to an area where several small thickets of trees dotted the trail. The dappled light and shade of the trees, as well as the interesting fauna and the knowledge that there would be a hot meal and a warm bed at the end of the day, making the entire experience feel almost like a holiday.

Without warning Time stopped with a gasp, flinging out an arm and catching Twilight hard in the chest, his eyes focused on something in the middle-distance.

‘Wild… what is _that_?’

Wild peered around Time to see something that made his heart drop.

He groaned under his breath and heard Hyrule inhale sharply through his nose next him.

‘Mother of Din, _Please_ tell me that’s not what I think it is.’ The Vet mumbled from his other side.

Wild grimaced. ‘It’s a Lynel. Silver-maned… T-there’s never been one in this area before.’ He began to back up, pushing Four and Wind behind him. ‘We should avoid it if we can. They can be…’

A deafening roar split the air around them and several of the group flinched. 

‘Too late.’ He reached for his slate and a windcleaver appeared in his hand, followed quickly by a radiant shield and his bomb arrows.

‘Stay back.’ He murmured at the group who were reaching for their own weapons. ‘I have a pattern for fighting them and we don’t know if it’s infected yet, I don't want you to get hurt, they’re really unpredictable and _smart_. If we all fight it, someone _will_ get hurt.’

The roar sounded again, closer this time, accompanied by the thundering of hooves. The lynel skidded to a stop and reared, its arms pointing a deadly looking bow in their direction.

With a hissed expletive, Wild narrowed his eyes, thrusting his shield out and over Time’s head with no warning, his sudden movement making the older man duck slightly.

With a hum and a solid _thwack,_ a pair of shock arrows slammed into the shield. The arrow heads embedded deep into the reinforced wood, leaving only the feathered shafts visible. A third arrow, lodging itself deep into the packed earth by their feet.

There was a moment of stunned silence. The Champion slowly lowered the shield, his eyes like chips of ice as they stared down the lynel.

It was painfully obvious that if Wild hadn't acted, Time would have been seriously wounded. The eldest’s eye widened, flicking between the arrows, still sparking with residual electricity in the shield, Wild and the Lynel.

‘Stay. Here.’ Wild said again, teeth gritted and face uncharacteristically fierce. Without waiting for acknowledgement, trusting them to do as he asked, he was off, running towards the danger.

‘We’re not really just going to let him fight it by himself are we?’ Sky demanded.

Warriors shrugged one shoulder casually. His intense eyes and the edge to his voice showing he was not quite as relaxed about Wild’s plan as he was trying to appear.

‘He said he has a pattern for fighting them, if we just jump in without a plan we’ll put him in even more danger.’

‘It’s enormous.’ Four muttered , his hands opening and closing spasmodically as he fought the urge to grab for the handle of his blade to help his friend.

‘It’s a lot bigger than the ones at home.’ Hyrule agreed nervously, casting his gaze at Legend who nodded with a worried frown of his own. 

‘What is he _doing_?’ Twilight breathed, eyes glued on his young protégé, Time's gentle hand on his shoulder the only thing stopping him from following. 'I thought he had a plan?!'

Wild, apparently deciding he was a suitable distance away from his friends, had planted his feet, shield in front of him, stock-still as the giant beast barreled towards him its chest high and shoulders back, the sharp hooves flinging clods of dirt and grass high into the air as it tore up the ground.

It lifted a huge, clubbed weapon, swinging it around its head once to increase the power and then sweeping it to the side, the club now carrying the entire momentum of the charging beast, swinging down towards a still unmoving Wild who was staring, unblinking and fierce, up at it. The Champion looking positively tiny, but completely unafraid, in the face of the charging Lynel.

‘He’s going to get himself killed.’ Sky breathed in horror. 

The Lynel let out a roar of victory, sure it had already won, but Wild had a trick of his own.

They watched as, at the very last second, Wild stepped forward with his right leg, his core tense, all of his weight balanced perfectly over his toes. He swung his shield up and out, catching the edge of the Lynel’s weapon with a sharp clanging ring that echoed around the empty field, breaking its stride and stopping the enormous creature in its tracks.

‘… _how the fuck?_ ’ Wind whispered.

Warriors let out an astonished whistle.

However, the Champion wasn’t done.

Faster than the eye could see, Wild spun and jumped, gripping a handful of the silver mane and planting a foot in it's flank, using the beast's own body to swing himself up onto it’s back as it tried to regain its balance, momentarily stunned from its sudden stop.

Hyrule gasped and Legend swore impressively.

Wild hung on tightly with his thighs and left hand, unsheathing the windcleaver and beginning to hack away at the Lynel’s unprotected back.

The beast roared again, this time in fury and pain, bucking wildly and reaching backwards with its muscular arms in an attempt to unseat or grab hold of the tiny Hylian that was causing so much pain.

The tips of its clawed fingers grazed Wild’s blue Champion’s tunic and the watching Heroes gasped in dismay, Sky already half-unsheathing the Master Sword and Warriors unable to resist shuffling forward a step his own hand on the hilt of his weapon.

But again, Wild was prepared.

Before the claws could dig into the material of his tunic, he braced his feet on the lynel’s broad back, sheathing the windcleaver and reclaiming his bow, launching himself high into the air.

With perfect timing and enviable athleticism he twisted into a backflip, unleashing a flurry of bomb arrows as he fell, somehow managing to strike the lynel three times before landing hard on his feet, his knees slamming into the ground a second later, a new bomb arrow already nocked and ready on his bow string, panting slightly and blue eyes almost glowing.

The lynel roared, the fury and frustration clearly audible in its tone.

Standing fluidly from his crouch, Wild unleashed his bomb arrow, this time aiming at the ground near the lynel and sprinting towards it as it flew.

It hit the ground and exploded in a small ball of flame, setting small fires to the grass of the field surrounding them.

Without pausing, Wild threw himself onto the grass fire and pulled his paraglider, allowing the updraft to carry him above the battlefield.

The beast, enraged as it was, was still smarter than it had any right to be, and seemed to have adapted to Wild's style of fighting, predicting his next move and aiming its shock arrows at the young man.

Wild gasped in surprise, and let go of the paraglider, allowing himself to fall and again pulling his bow.

He let five arrows fly, impossibly fast, each one hitting their target and exploding, the deafening sound almost completely hiding the roar of the lynel.

Wild fell into the ball of smoke, flame and debris, surrounding the beast, disappearing from the view of the others for a moment.

Within seconds, he was sprinting through the fire in the direction away from the lynel, his arms crossed in front of his face to protect his skin from the heat. He skidded to a stop in the middle of a patch of burned grass and equipped his shield, orange-red embers from the explosion still licking at his long blonde hair and the edges of his tunic.

The lynel appeared through the flames only moments later, shaking blood and ash from its mane and striding through the fire as if immune to the heat.

It stared at Wild for a long moment and then threw itself forwards _heaving._ A giant fireball exploded from its mouth and slammed into Wild’s shield. The others cried out in alarm, but Wild again swung his arm, impossibly deflecting the fireball back at the lynel. It hit squarely and the lynel roared, its mane and the nearby grass now ablaze again, dark blood dripping from its fangs and eyes red with blood-lust.

Wild ran forwards equipping his paraglider and used the updraft to soar above the lynel, taking advantage of its distraction. He pulled the windcleaver, dropping like a stone from the sky, hair flying out behind him and eyes never wavering, his teeth gritted. He landed, kneeling, on the back of the lynel, sword piercing it all the way through its head, and he backflipped off again, leaving the sword embedded in its brain.

He stood, crouched for a long moment, bow in hand, panting harshly and eyes intense as he waited.

With another, final roar, the lynel staggered and its silver coat began to black, the colour quickly spreading until it overtook the whole form, disintegrating the lynel and turning it into a fine dust that blew out over the field. 

Wild straightened out and gave a sigh of relief, still panting slightly.

‘All clear’ he called to the others, moving forwards to collect his sword and the weapons dropped by the lynel.

The others cautiously approached, picking their way around the still smoldering patches of grass, burned dirt and scorched rock of the battlefield.

Twilight reached him first, pulling the stunned young man into a brief hug.

‘Never, _ever_ , do that again.’ He hissed, torn between proud, horrified and exasperated. ‘What were you thinking?’

Time nodded. ‘Next time we’re fighting as a team. You shouldn't be trying to fight infected monsters on your own. You’ll get yourself killed.’

Wild shook his head in confusion, sheathing his new weapons into the slate.

‘It wasn’t infected.’ He said. ‘Just a regular Lynel.’ He looked around at the burned grass of the battlefield. ‘It was one of the strongest kind in my Hyrule though, and I don’t know why it was in this area.’

Twilight and Time exchanged stunned glances, the others watching in astonished bemusement.

‘Wait... I…it… the lynel… wasn’t infected?’ Sky finally managed. ‘That was just…a normal monster for your Hyrule?’

‘Well, I mean, lynels are really strong, but... yep?’

‘Holy _fuck_ , Wild.’ Wind muttered, eyes glowing with respect.

Wild blushed.

‘That was an impressive strategy.' Warriors said quietly. ‘You used your surroundings, your weapons _and_ your brains.’

‘Are you hurt?’ Hyrule asked obviously not listening to anything else going on, nervous eyes raking over his friend’s form.

Wild looked himself over and then shook his head. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘I think we know why you're the Hero of the Wilds now.’ Four chuckled, he ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’ve never seen someone fight like that.’

Legend snorted uncharacteristically, what he had just witnessed beginning to sink in.

‘You crazy. Fucking. Bastard!… you rode a _lynel_.’

Another beat of silence as the others began to process what they'd seen.

Hyrule began to laugh helplessly, joined a moment later by Wind.

Wild’s blush deepened when Warriors’ deep chuckle joined in.

The Champion rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

‘What else was I supposed to do?’

'Besides _ride_ it?!' Four asked between giggles. 'Honestly... I don't know. Were there _any_ other options?' 

The laughter increased at the sheer ridiculousness of their friend and Wild pouted for a moment, feeling as if he was the one being laughed at. 

A chuckling Time patted him on the shoulder.

‘It _was_ very impressive, Cub.’ He managed. He gestured helplessly at the rest of the group who were now weak with laughter.

‘Don’t mind them. I think they're just relieved?’ he shook his head bemused. ‘…it’s hard to say.’

Warriors crouched, his hands on the ground, still laughing, face redder than Wild had ever seen it, for once not caring at all about appearances.

The long-haired young man felt a small smile twitch up the corners of his mouth against his wishes.

‘Wild, that…’ Wind huffed between gales of laughter. ‘Was… the coolest… thing… I-I’ve ever…SEEN!’

‘It... _was_!’ Hyrule agreed, gasping for air.

‘You rode a fucking _lynel_!’ Legend choked again, arms wrapped around his stomach.

Wild shook his head and began to walk back down the path towards the stable, the others stumbling along behind him

‘You guys are so _weird_.’ He muttered shoving the lynel guts he had collected into his slate and then wiping his hand on his trousers.

He blushed when the laughter behind him increased, suddenly sure that he was the punch-line of a joke he didn't understand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys... this was the very first battle scene I've written. Ever. For ANYTHING. 
> 
> It's hard! I can see why people either like or dislike writing them. Honestly, I'm in no real rush to try another, but it was fun to give it a try.
> 
> I don't know if I really like how it turned out, because I haven't had a chance to re-read it, but I have somewhere I need to be today and will be gone all day, so I either had to post this, or post nothing *shrugs* 
> 
> I have also only ever beaten like... Two? Lynels in game? Honestly, I just don't think they're worth the hassle, they're harder to beat the Ganon...is that just me?


	4. Uncomfortable

Sometimes.

 _Occasionally_.

Four would overeat.

Although Wild was a genius with a camp fire and cooking pot, the limitations of living and adventuring on the road inevitably meant that more complicated dishes were often too time consuming, or difficult to create out in the wilderness.

So, although there was always more than enough food, and it was always delicious, warm and comforting, there tended to be one large pot of stew, risotto or soup that the group helped themselves from each meal. 

The problem only really arose when they were given _options_ , because technically, Four had four very distinct flavour preferences.

The issue first appeared a few weeks after Wild had joined the group. They had stopped to make camp early and the Champion had decided to spoil them, putting together an impressive platter of different flavoured rice balls.

While the other heroes had all exclaimed happily and helped themselves, Four had frozen for a moment, torn in four different directions. One trait that all the chosen heroes shared was a love of food. It was one of the few luxuries any of them had had on their adventures and Four was no exception. But, while all of the colours _liked_ all of the rice ball flavours, each colour had a _preference_ for which one was their favourite.

Red adored poultry, Vio preferred plain salted while Blue liked meaty and Green enjoyed seafood.

Green, who was currently at the front, the leader of the others, stared at the platter with his mouth watering and a resigned, already uncomfortable, sensation building in his stomach when he realised that all of their favourites were on offer. He knew it would be unfair to choose only one or two options and deny the others the chance to have their favourite when they'd all been working so hard.

And so, it had taken the others by surprise when the Smithy had reached for rice ball after rice ball as each of the colours came to the front, taking their turn to eat.

‘Woah!’ Warriors had laughed when he’d reached past him for the third. ‘Hungry?’

The small hero laughed quietly, biting into the ball with relish, peeking at the others out of the corners of half-closed, vibrant purple eyes.

‘… very.’

The others, baffled by his, sudden, seemingly voracious appetite had continued to tease him lightly and Four had simply laughed along, eating until all of the colours were satisfied, eventually managing four of Wild’s _very_ generously portioned rice balls.

An entire rice ball more than anyone else, despite his small stature. 

Which was why no one was terribly surprised when, half an hour later, he was reduce to lying on his bed roll, uncomfortable and overfull from eating far, far too much. The others, occasionally throwing amused but confused glances his way, had left him alone, sitting around the campfire for their normal evening chat.

He groaned and rolled onto his back, hands on his stomach, to see Wild standing above him with a grin, holding a cup of peppermint tea.

The Champion took one look at the Smithy’s face and sat down with a laugh.

‘Here.’ He said softly. ‘I know you probably feel like you can’t fit anything else in, but this will help.’

Four smiled sheepishly and sat, leaning against his pack, taking the warm cup.

‘Sorry about dinner…’ He whispered, embarrassed by his behaviour.

Wild laughed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, watching people enjoy my food it is one of the reasons I love to cook.’ He paused. ‘But… You don’t normally eat _nearly_ that much when we have rice balls.’

He ran an obvious eye over the Smithy’s obviously uncomfortable posture. ‘And you look like you’re definitely regretting it now.’ He added wryly, laughing when Four gave another weak groan. The scarred young man's expression turned confused and slightly concerned. ‘Is there something going on?’

Four blanched and lowered his teacup. ‘No. Nothing especially.’ He hedged, running his thumb over the rim.

‘I just…’ He paused, thinking fast. ‘I just really like trying a bit of everything but hate wasting food. If you make different kinds of something, I’ll want to try all of it and then force myself to eat everything so nothing’s wasted.’

Wild hummed, eyes searching the Smithy’s face.

‘…ok.’ He said softly, clearly unconvinced. His electric blue eyes glittered curiously in the flickering fire light.

Four blushed, and twirled the teacup slowly in his hands, unable to explain any further without revealing more than he wanted.

He didn’t know what to say.

Wild slowly shook his head, a kind smile in place.

‘It’s ok, you don’t have to say anything else.’

Four lowered his head, feeling awful and Wild gave a small laugh, suddenly shifting his weight to bump the Smithy’s shoulder playfully with his own.

Four gasped in surprise and held his cup high in both hands so the warm liquid wouldn’t slop over the sides and onto his bed.

He levelled a half-hearted glare at his friend.

‘Drink your tea before you explode.’ Wild advised with a grin.

Four smiled and sipped at the hot liquid slowly, listening to the chatter of the others and his stomach gradually settling.

O o O o O

The next time Wild made rice balls, he settled the platters in the middle of the group and gave the Smithy a sudden, enigmatic, grin.

Confused, Four blinked and leaned forward to look more closely at the plate, amused and appreciative laughter bubbling past his lips while the rest of the group exclaimed in pleased surprise.

Each rice ball was perfect, decorated with Wild’s normal exquisite care and precision… and… roughly half their normal size.

‘Woah!’ Wind exclaimed looking at the platter. ‘These are _cool_!’

‘What’s the occasion, Cub?’ Twilight asked, impressed. ‘These must have taken a lot longer to make.’

Wild shook his head with a smile and selected a seafood rice ball from the platter, he popped it onto his plate with one long-fingered hand and then moved to sit next to Four.

‘Not really, I just wanted to try something different.’ He took a bite, watching with a pleased smile as the others all reached forwards to snag their own. His sharp eyes catching the moment Four struggled for a moment to decide between two flavours before finally settling on meat, eyes glinting slightly blue in the orange light of the fire.

‘I just thought if we had smaller ones we’d have more room to try all the flavours.’ He continued, smiling when Four's head turned slightly in his direction, looking at the Champion through slightly narrowed eyes.

‘Ooooh!’ Hyrule breathed, swallowing his mouthful of poultry rice ball. ‘Yes, good idea!’

Casual chatter filled the campsite and Four, Blue currently at the front, risked a half-turn of his head, blushing when he realised that the Champion’s attention was still on him.

He glared, unseeing, at the rice ball on his plate, the fingertips of his hands pressing uncertainly into the rim of the plate on his lap.

Blue wasn’t usually the first choice for dealing with these kinds of situations. He tended to be too blunt, saying things that had the others groaning in dismay, causing offence without meaning to. When trying to navigate any kind of situation that involved feelings, he had a habit of blushing and stuttering to a stop, anxious not to say anything stupid.

‘What do you think?’ Wild asked casually, popping another bite into his mouth. 'I think they're better this size.'

Blue cleared his throat and gave a jerky nod of his head, blush increasing trying to think of something appropriate to say and letting the silence stretch on for far too long.

‘Not bad.’ He mumbled finally, awkwardly, still fiddling with the edge of the plate. He put his head in his hand, groaning softly and wishing for a moment that he had the emotional intelligence of Green or Red.

He looked up sharply in surprise when Wild gave a small, pleased, laugh, the Champion apparently unoffended by this less than stellar review from the small Smithy despite it being obvious that he had worked especially hard to put the platter together just for him.

‘I’m glad you like it.’ 

Blue relaxed slightly and allowed himself a small smile. Somehow Wild understood.

‘Thanks...’ He tried again, blush fading slightly. ‘I-it’s delicious.’

Wild gave him a sudden, blinding, grin and Blue found himself smiling wryly back. He knew that his smile wasn’t the same as Four’s normal one, but again, Wild simply took him at face value.

A shout from Twilight on the other side of the fire stole Wild's attention, pulling him into conversation.

Blue picked up his rice ball and took another bite, still smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... kind of like this one? 
> 
> It's a new headcanon of mine and I might work a more polished version of this into another fic one day.
> 
> It feels a bit like a short Wild Rice chapter because Wild is once again showing his love through food... <3
> 
> Tomorrow's chapter is going to be longggg. I can see it now.


	5. Explosion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is the longest so far!
> 
> I know two days ago I said I was in no hurry to write another battle scene, but... *shrugs helplessly*
> 
> I don't like the battle scene very much, but don't have time to tweak it today with the chapter already so long, so please take that part with a grain of salt. 
> 
> Tomorrow's chapter might be a kind of continuation of this.

It had gone from calm to chaos in the blink of an eye

Wild had been informing them, in surprising detail, of the benefits of cutting a small X in the top of a mushroom cap to ensure even cooking, when a flash of sunlight on metal had caught Sky’s eye.

His hoarse yell of warning was the only warning they’d had before four silver moblins from Wild’s era had ambushed them from the trees.

Wild had immediately ducked and rolled with a grunt. Spinning out of range the way of a heavy blow from a moblin club, an Edge of Duality materialising in his hands, the Champion already swinging the blade before the strings of light had faded completely.

He managed to catch one of the moblins off guard, ducking into a balanced crouch under what would have been a devastating blow of its spiked club. He rolled under its reverse swing and then rushing forwards all in one fluid movement. He placed his foot on the monster’s bent knee and then jumped has high as he could, using its own force as leverage, twisting in the air and swinging the blade towards its head with a yell, dispatching the monster quickly as attempted to regain its balance.

He landed in a forward roll to keep his momentum and twisted to his feet, surveying the battle.

The others had fallen into natural groups depending on where they’d been at the time of the attack, pooling their skills to fight the moblins. Four and Legend, Sky and Time, Twilight, Wind and Warriors.

Wild and Hyrule had been walking together at the front of the group. The moblins had gone for them first making the two spring apart to avoid the initial swing of the heavy club.

His eyes narrowed when he saw a fifth moblin sneaking from the undergrowth, a sword raised high and clearly intended for Hyrule’s unprotected back as the Traveller battled a monster from the front, his expression unusually fierce.

Wild inhaled a gasp and charged towards his friend.

Just as the large monster began to swing its weapon down, the Champion ploughed into Hyrule hard, knocking them both off their feet and rolling down a small embankment into the side of a rough, sandstone cliff face.

The back of Hyrule’s head hit the rock, making his vision dim at the edges for a moment and the air left his lungs with a woosh.

‘Argh! _Wild_?’ Hyrule groaned, dizzy and disoriented, taking a moment before he could raise his head from the ground, unsure which way was up.

He was unaware of how close he’d come to disaster until he looked back up the small hill and saw the huge beast trying to wrench the sword free from the rock-hard ground the tip was embedded in, right where he’d been standing before Wild had tackled him. Disbelieving eyes flew to his friend.

Wild had rolled into a low crouch, his feet under his centre of gravity. Hyrule, still slightly dazed from his hit to the head had apparently missed the moment he’d put his sword back in the slate and pulled a bow. Wild loosed his bow-string, his eyes narrow and glinting with icy-blue fury at the near miss, shooting several arrows into the moblin’s head. The moblin gave a low, furious roar and disintegrated with a burst of black dust.

Hyrule was just hauling himself to his feet, sword back in hand, and left ankle twinging, apparently twisted, from his unexpected roll down the hill.

Wild tensed with a low gasp, catching his attention and he watched the Champion’s eyes flick up to something behind him and then widen in horror. A split second passed while he remained frozen, half-crouched, electric blue eyes glanced at Hyrule once more, indecisive, obviously weighing up the options.

And then the Champion was up, sprinting as fast as he could along the length of the stone cliff _away_ from Hyrule, who reached after him with one, startled, hand.

But Wild, fast as he was, did not make it far before the entire rock-face he was running next to exploded in a ball of flames.

Hyrule threw his arms over his head and dove behind a small outcrop of rock away from the hot, sharp shards of stone and debris. Several of the trees surrounding him began to creak and groan in protest at the percussive force from the blast. A large branch broke off, slamming into the ground right next to his hiding place, a sharp twig from the splintered wood scraping down the side of his, already injured, leg and tearing a gash in his skin.

A silence filled the air surrounding the battlefield for a long beat after the explosion, before the sound of growling picked up again.

Hyrule looked up slowly, his eyes huge. He felt like he was underwater. Sound was coming dull and muted into his ears as if it was being filtered through a sheet of cotton wool, it seemed to be pulsing strangely sharpening for a moment and then dulling again, adding a sense of unreality to the suddenly too bright colours. He felt a tickle on his forehead and held up a hand, pulling it away when he felt liquid looking at the palm of his hand with detachment.

Blood. He was bleeding.

With a strange sense of apathy he realised that he must have hit his head again, the second time in five minutes.

Dazed, he pushed himself up to his knees, and blinked when something small and hard hit the back of his hand. He stared at it for a long moment, several more hitting the damp forest floor around him, bouncing slightly on the dead leaves and moss. With a jolt, he realised that they were pebbles that had been thrown into the sky during the impact falling back down to earth.

A strange high-pitched ringing sound started up in his right ear. He staggered to his feet.

A dazed look to his right confirmed a silver moblin holding a bow, another bomb arrow nocked and he realised where the blast must have come from. But that didn’t entirely make sense, the explosion was far, far greater than a normal bomb arrow. It seemed that the monsters had managed to improve the design, and the power at the same time.

A swift look to his left showed Wild lying, face-down on the ground where he’d been thrown from the blast, he was unmoving, covered in the small rocks and pieces of rubble that had rained down on him from the debris-field.

It was obvious, even from here, that the Champion had hit the ground hard. The moblin turned, arrow now pointing at the prone young man.

Hyrule gasped, and staggered forwards, his balance non-existent, ankle now thoroughly twisted and leg bleeding sluggishly.

He looked at the fallen archer in disbelief, not quite able to comprehend the scene in front of him with his head throbbing the way it was.

Had Wild purposefully run away from the him to protect him from the worst of the blast?

Hyrule had the uneasy feeling that he had, and now, the scarred young man was lying unprotected and vulnerable in the middle of the fight, a silver moblin aiming another super-charged bomb arrow directly at him.

Hyrule placed a hand to his own forehead, desperately trying to stop the world from swirling long enough to protect his friend.

He scoured the ground frantically for his sword before realising with a shock that it was already tightly grasped in his hand. The high-pitched ringing in his ears began to subside and he moved forward as fast as he was able to on his injured leg.

‘Wild!’ He yelled, desperately voice-cracking when he inhaled some dust. He set his teeth, and shook his head slightly, feeling the world click mostly back into place.

Everything began to move at its normal speed, the shock fading slightly as adrenaline kicked in.

He ran forwards, realising with a flash of cold fear that Wild still hadn’t moved despite the chaos continuing around him.

The Champion was barely conscious, his blue eyes dull and dazed as he stared up at his friend and Hyrule wasn't sure if the cook was even registering what his eyes were showing him. He knew from experience that their feral cook was able to bounce back from hits quickly, cackling and unfazed, knowing that survival meant the ability to get back on your feet no matter what.

To still be down, Wild had been hit by the blast much, _much_ harder than the Traveller had thought. This time, Wild would not be able to get up under his own steam.

Hyrule staggered again, nearly falling, the world still tilting strangely on its axis for a moment and he shook his head slightly again, eyes focussing just in time to see Wild exhale slowly, his eyes fluttering shut as he finally unwound into unconsciousness.

‘Hyrule, take him!’

Hyrule looked up to see Warriors in front of him, wrenching his sword out of the moblin with the bomb arrows, straining against the huge beast, holding it back with his shield.

Hyrule gasped, sword already out, how had he forgotten about the bomb wielding monster?

Warriors’ eyes were narrowed and focussed, but the Captain looked uncharacteristically worried, eyes flicking towards Wild and obviously reaching the same conclusion about the Cook that Hyrule had.

For Wild to stay down in the middle of a battle meant that he needed help.

‘Go!’ He gritted through is teeth, most of his attention on the fight.

Hyrule watched, mouth slightly ajar and mind still sluggish and warped when Warriors swapped feet and spun gracefully to deflect the kick of a moblin with his shield, attention pulled away from his friends and back into the battle, trusting Hyrule to take care of their friend.

Without thinking, Hyrule stepped up and grabbed the Champion, hauling him to his feet and then hugging the unconscious young man to his chest, holding him bridal style.

The Champion didn't so much as flicker, something that made the cold worry in Hyrule’s stomach trickle out throughout his body like poison. The first stirrings of panic began to nip at him, making breathing harder and his lungs ache in desperation, his limbs felt cold and numb.

He needed to get Wild somewhere quiet, he needed to _heal_ him.

Running purely on adrenaline and forgetting completely about his own injuries, Hyrule ran through the brush surrounding the main fight to a private copse of trees where he gently lowered Wild to the ground, just out of sight of the battle.

He sat back for a moment to look over his friend’s condition and frowned when the young man simply lay, sprawled where he had been placed, his long blonde hair was still smouldering on the ends from the blast.

Hyrule leaned down and gently took Wild’s face in his hands, tilting him to see if there was any damage. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed for the first time that Wild appeared to be bleeding out of his ears and had a bloody nose.

He hissed in distress and placed one shaking hand on his friend’s forehead, the other on his chest, just over his heart, _pouring_ healing magic into him.

He concentrated all of his energy on his Life spell, not noticing as the sounds of the battle around them tapered out and then died. The footsteps of the others rapidly approaching. He didn’t hear them calling his name.

It wasn't until gentle but strong hands found his and pulled them back, that he realised the others had found them.

Legend was crouching next to him, a shallow cut on his cheek and the beginnings of an ugly bruise around his pale neck. His eyes were on Hyrule and for the first time the Traveller realised he was soaked with sweat and trembling violently, breath coming in great, harsh, sobs.

The world spun around him, tilting oddly for a moment before his balance equalised. He made a panicked sound of distress and Legend supported him gently by the shoulders.

‘Roolie. It’s ok.’ The Veteran said softly, voice slightly rough from the bruise around his throat. He held Hyrule’s hands still with his own.

‘He’s going to be fine. You need to _stop_ now.’

Hyrule pulled his magic back into himself with a gasp and refocussed his eyes as best he could.

The others were surrounding them, none appeared to have made it out entirely unscathed, but none were worse than the Champion.

Twilight crouched down and tapped Wild gently on the side of the face, calling him surprisingly softly despite the frantic look on his face. The Rancher had obviously noticed the blood that still leaked slowly from his nose and ears despite Hyrule's magic.

‘Cub… hey _wake up_.’

The young man’s head lolled, mouth slightly open, but he didn’t react.

‘Is he ok?’ Wind asked finally, his tone a desperate whisper while Legend subtly sent some of his own healing magic into Hyrule, arm still around the Traveller’s shoulders.

It was painfully obvious to the others from his unstable gait, glazed eyes and slurred speech that Hyrule was also struggling from the blast.

Warriors ran his hand through his normally immaculate hair, making it stand up and stood from his crouch where he was checking Wild’s injuries. He nodded, biting his lip.

‘I think so, He’s pretty beaten up, but that’s to be expected. He has a concussion for sure, he was too close to the blast not to. His ear drums are damaged, but I don’t think they’re busted, still it might take some time before he can hear properly, and he might get dizzy for a bit.’

Time nodded, his eye a dark, stormy blue. He was very pale.

‘We need to get him out of here. I don’t think he’s going to be particularly lucid for a day or two given the hit to the head he took. And he’s going to have a headache for weeks. But Wild has surprised us before.’

Sky nodded and patted Hyrule on the shoulder. ‘You did good getting him out of there.’ He said quietly, he and Legend frowning when the Traveller gave no indication that he'd heard. ‘You saved him.’

Legend’s turned his gaze on Four, and the Smithy moved closer at the unspoken request to take his place at Hyrule’s side, supporting the older teen and leaving the Veteran to rummage through his bag.

The short teen frowned when he realised that Hyrule didn’t seem to have noticed the person at his side had changed, his dull eyes fixed firmly on Wild. He didn’t appear to be blinking. Four began to rub his back soothingly, sharing a worried look with Time and Wind.

‘Let’s give this a go.’ The pink-haired teen said to himself, pulling out a bottle of smelling salts.

‘I don’t think he’ll be conscious long, but with a hit that hard to his head, we need to know if anything is…damaged.’

Shaking loose of Four’s grip with a strangled gasp, Hyrule crawled forwards too dizzy to stand, taking position on the right side of Wild, while Legend opened the tiny glass bottle on his left.

‘Here goes nothing’ he mumbled, reaching out to wave the pungent salts under the teen’s nose. There was a moment of silence where nothing happened and they thought it wouldn’t work. But then Wild gave a loud gasp, choking like a drowning man, his eyes flying open.

‘Cub!’ Twilight exclaimed, leaning forwards into his line of sight. ‘Are you ok?’

Wild stared at the sky, eyes dull and pained, his expression pinched.

He was filthy, covered in blood, ash and soot. He had sweat marks and small rocks still clinging to his long hair.

He looked like he’d been through a war zone.

‘Twi?’ he said after a long, tense moment, squinting as he tried to focus his eyes. After a moment he slammed them shut and then opened them more slowly. ‘Ah…’mdizzy…’ he slurred.

‘Are you alright?’ Hyrule hissed, grabbing Wild’s arm and giving it a slight shake.

The dazed blue eyes opened again and fixed on Hyrule this time. Obviously, with his ears damaged, he hadn’t heard what was said.

Both Legend and Warriors exchanged uneasy looks when they noticed Wild’s left pupil was much larger than his right, a sign of severe concussion.

The Champion, however, rather than fading out straight away as they’d expected, instead opened his eyes a little wider, taking them by surprise.

‘Roolie…! Ther-wazza… bomb? T-too… too close…’ he slurred, almost incoherent, eyes trying to focus but failing. He paused and swallowed. ‘…youalight?’

Hyrule nodded in front of Wild’s eyes so the young man could see the movement.

‘ _Good_.’ Wild’s burst of energy and he closed his eyes. Another hit of the smelling salts doing nothing to wake the exhausted archer.

‘Well, we know he’s going to be alright although that concussion is worse than I thought.’ Legend began. He paused and allowed himself a fortifying breath when his voice shook _very_ slightly.

Legend’s clever blue eyes swung to look at the Traveller whose eyes were on his sleeping friend, Hyrule seemed unaware of the steady drip of blood down his forehead and onto the growing stain on the left shoulder of his tunic.

‘But… I don’t think he’s the only one who’s going to have a lingering head-injury from that fucking blast.’ He muttered pointedly to the eldest.

Time shot a subtle look at Hyrule who was back with Four. The Smithy watching him in concern, keeping up a steady stream of conversation to keep Hyrule conscious and distracted, and nodded.

‘We need to get them somewhere safe.’ Time agreed softly, he looked over at Twilight. 'Do you think we can get to an inn or shelter before dark?'

Twilight nodded slowly, considering, and handed a soft piece of cloth, dampened with water to Sky. 'We should only be an hour or two away, honestly. We'll have to share rooms, but it will be safe.'

Sky kneeled and gently wiped at the Champion's face to try and remove the worst of the blood and grime. He narrowed his eyes as he worked, a memory from the battle resurfacing.

‘Did any of you see Wild shoot that moblin that was aiming for him?’ he asked, his tone curiously light.

‘I… think I saw him shoot three arrows at once.’ Wind added. ‘I thought I was seeing wrong, but when I looked, one of the moblins had three arrows sticking out of it.’

Legend paused from where he was investigating the gash on Hyrule’s leg and looked over at the Sailor.

‘Three? Really? And they all hit?’

Wind nodded, eyes wide. ‘I think so.’

The Veteran whistled, impressed.

‘Well, I’ll have to ask him how he does that. I’ll say that much for him, the Champion is better with a bow than anyone I’ve ever met.’

‘Not bad with a sword either.’ Warriors mused with a strangely calculating look. ‘And his strategy of moving away from Hyrule to draw the focus of the bomb arrows was risky but calculated, it was a good move.’

He put his hand up to his chin as if thinking, eyes troubled.

Hyrule swallowed, feeling dizzy and unbalanced. Four was still rubbing his arm gently, the feeling helping to stop the world from spinning quite so badly.

‘He told me he was a knight before the Calamity.’ He managed to grit out his voice echoing strangely in his own ears.

Silence greeted his comment and he looked up to see everyone staring at him in disbelief.

Hyrule wilted.

‘D-did you not know that? Should I not have said anything?’ He clenched his eyes shut and placed his hands over them.

‘No, no it’s ok.’ Four said gently, expression pained. ‘I think we’re just surprised. Wild doesn’t seem the type is all.’

‘But…’ Warriors said, shooting a look a Sky who nodded in surprised agreement. ‘It certainly does explain a few things.’

‘He doesn’t really... He might not be remembering right.’ Hyrule babbled, feeling as if he’d done something _wrong_ and wasn’t sure how to fix it.

‘It’s alright.’ Twilight soothed. ‘We won’t say anything until he’s ready to share it with us.’

Time nodded, his eye dark and unreadable at the news that yet another of his boys may have been active in the military in the service of Hylia.

‘We know he is from a time further into the future than any of ours.’ Time agreed. ‘We’re not sure how far ahead he is.’ He paused, a thought occurring to him. ‘Unless Wild has mentioned that?’

Slowly, Hyrule shook his head.

‘It's possible that ‘knight’ doesn’t mean the same thing in his era. He mentioned that there are very few people in his land, so it could be another kind of title rather than one attached to the military.’

Warriors nodded, biting his lip while Sky turned curious eyes on the unconscious Wild, expression thoughtful.

‘First.’ Four said, his calm voice cutting through the chaos of their thoughts and effortlessly catching the attention of the others. ‘We need to get Wild and Hyrule somewhere they can rest.’

‘Definitely.’ Legend agreed without hesitation. He stood and helped Hyrule to his feet, Four steadying him on the other side.

‘We can talk about whatever the fuck this is later. Or we can not talk about it and just let Wild have his privacy until he brings it up himself. But for now…’ He gave a strange, whole body twitch, his eyes travelling the clearing, uneasy. ‘Let’s find somewhere safe to sleep and figure out what the hell just happened and how those bastards found us!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a PSA for the people who get their jollies commenting anonymously with the sole purpose of leaving a flame. I've removed your comment and will continue to remove them if more appear. Constructive criticism is welcome, whatever the hell that comment was, is not. 
> 
> Find a new hobby. 
> 
> My intention is to come out of COVID slightly better at something than I was going in, I've picked writing because I can do it in lockdown. Have a think. What are you doing? Will you come out on the other side a better person or a worse one? 
> 
> To everyone else, thank you so much for reading. I know that my style isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I work hard on what I post, so thank you for leaving a kudos/comment.


	6. Delirious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a continuation of yesterday's fic, the aftermath of Wild's injury although there's no graphic descriptions or blood, just one very concussed boy.
> 
> I've written close to 6000 words in two days, so please take any mistakes or weirdness with a grain of salt. It's inevitable that this won't be polished.

Battered and bruised the group limped into Kakariko village just as the sun was setting.

A still unconscious Wild was draped over Twilight’s shoulders and Legend was supporting Hyrule, the Traveller only slightly dizzy now after downing the red potion that Four had shoved at him. Although he was still desperately worried about his friend, it was clear that Hyrule was barely standing, exhausted from his injury and the healing magic he'd used earlier.

By the time they reached the inn, his eyelids were flickering and the toes of his boots dragging in the dust as they walked. All of his attention focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It was painfully obvious that he'd be out cold as soon as he was horizontal. 

They pushed their way through the rough wooden door of the inn and were greeted by the startled eyes of an elderly male innkeeper who was tallying his books behind the desk. 

Time stepped forwards wearily. 'Do you have any free rooms?' 

The man nodded slowly, his warm eyes sweeping the group, obviously counting the members and noting their battle-worn state.

'We have three. You'll have to share, but they're warm, dry and we can move some extra mattresses in from our storage if you don't mind sleeping on the floor? You boys look like you could use a real rest.' 

'That sounds wonderful.' Time breathed in relief. 'We would appreciate that.' 

The man nodded and moved to organise their beds, leaving the group to sort out the sleeping arrangements. 

In the end, Warriors and Legend volunteered to sleep in the same room as Wild and keep an eye on the Champion. The two older veterans rarely slept the night through, especially after a battle, and were confident that if Wild were to wake in the night they would hear him.

Wind, Sky and Four would share the second room, taking advantage of a rare night of potentially unbroken sleep. 

Hyrule, Time and Twilight would share the last room, at Time's insistence.

It was clear that Twilight was desperately worried for Wild, and just as clear that if he was in the same room he would hover over the Champion all night, keeping vigil at his bedside when he himself looked close to collapse. His worry for the younger man sucking his stamina and leaving him shaky and exhausted. 

As expected, Twilight had protested, wanting to be with his protégé, but Time had simply put a gentle hand on his shoulder, leading him away from the group for a moment and talking to him earnestly. The others saw the moment the Rancher's shoulders had sagged, obviously giving in and agreeing to the arrangements.

So, it was with surprisingly little fuss that Twilight had checked once more on Wild to make sure the other was sleeping comfortably before he had excused himself early for the night. Disappearing into the room he would share with Time and Hyrule, asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, sleeping soundly in the small bed next to the, already snoring, Traveller. 

After a light dinner of vegetable soup, the others followed his lead. Stumping up the stairs to their own beds, bleary eyed and stumbling with exhaustion. 

All were fast asleep before the sun had fully set, leaving Warriors and Legend with their duty.

‘So.’ Warriors asked, stretching his arms over his head and then settling languidly into the chair besides Wild’s bed. ‘I think I’ll just nap here.’ He bounced up and down for a moment, testing the comfort of the single seater he was in. ‘If you’re alright with that?’

Legend took off his hat and stood running a hand through his hair. His fingers caught on a knot in the pink of his fringe, but he simply untangled it with a sigh. ‘Sounds good to me. I don’t sleep as well sitting up, so I’ll just take the other bed.’

Warriors nodded thoughtfully, biting his lip.

Abruptly, unexpectedly, taking them both by complete surprise, Wild gave a low hum and half opened his eyes. Conscious for the first time in hours.

Warriors gave a slight gasp and then leaned forwards, moving himself into Wild’s field of vision.

‘Hey.’ He said softly, signing as he spoke. They still weren’t sure of the extent of Wild’s hearing damage from the explosion. ‘How are you feeling?’

Wild blinked at him, he was very pale and his eyes were glittering strangely. He didn’t answer. It didn't seem that he was even aware he was being spoken to. His blue eyes seemed to be looking straight through Warriors to the ceiling behind him.

‘Wild?’ Legend asked, copying Warriors and signing as he spoke. His tone was slightly unsure, seeming at some level to understand the strange vacant expression.

No answer.

‘ _Wild_.’

Nothing.

‘…Link?’ He finger spelled the name, cautiously, hesitant.

All at once, the blue orbs swivelled to Legend, a noise of confusion leaving the young man who was still laying prone on the bed. Apparently too exhausted to move.

Legend shot Warriors a slightly worried look which was returned, neither sure of how to progress. They really hadn’t expected Wild to wake.

Warriors swallowed and reached for the red potion that Sky had prepared. ‘Ok...you’re injured, you hit your head. Things might seem a bit strange right now.’

The strange, vacant expression shifted back to Warriors. Who licked his lips, apparently unnerved by the normally vibrant young man’s strange demeanour.

‘I-I’m Warriors, the guy with the pink hair is Legend. We're friends.’

Wild continued to stare, they weren’t entirely sure how lucid he was and Legend put a gentle hand on the young man’s forehead. The dull blue eyes swung back to stare at the other man, eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to focus. His gaze seemed to be going in and out.

Legend gave a hiss at the look in his eyes, there was a glimmer of recognition, but it was far from normal. He shook his head at Warriors who moved the bottle closer to Wild’s mouth.

‘We need you to drink this. The last dose of medicine has worn off.’ He held the bottle up in front of his friend's eyes, using abbreviated hand signs with the other so Wild would be able to understand what was being said if he couldn't hear.

Dull eyes stared for a long moment before Wild suddenly sat bolt upright with a low gasp, startling the two older men. Warriors leapt back with an oath and some of the liquid in the bottle he was holding slopped over the rim, onto the timber floor.

Wild stared at his own hands for a long moment, hair unbound and flowing over his shoulders before finally raising his head to look at Warriors who was holding the dripping bottle carefully.

With a furrowed brow, Wild raised a hand up to feel his own forehead, apparently aware enough to know that he didn’t feel well, but perhaps not aware enough to know where he was or who he was with.

With a sigh that sounded absolutely exhausted, his hand fell back into his lap and he turned his head to look first at Legend and then at Warriors, whole body shaking from the effort of sitting.

‘I-I need you to drink this.’ Warriors tried again, holding the bottle out.

Wild tried to take the potion, but his hands were shaking even more violently than the rest of his body. He looked at them with detached curiosity.

Legend swallowed nervously. He placed a gentle, supportive, hand on Wild’s back while Warriors held the bottle up to his friend’s mouth.

‘Link. We need you to take a few sips of this. Y-you’re not well.’ The Captain said softly.

There was a long, long moment of silence as the thought penetrated Wild’s foggy brain before he finally nodded, long hair flowing over his shoulder at the movement.

The Soldier held the bottle up to his mouth and helped the young man to drink the liquid. Wild closed his eyes and slowly, so slowly, the liquid disappeared as he drank the medicine. When he was done, Warriors removed the empty bottle from his lips and Wild simply sat, mouth slightly open.

His eyes were open only a crack, the sliver of his vibrant blue eyes that was visible was glowing in the moonlight, the same colour as the sheikah shrines in his Hyrule. A long, tangled strand of his unbound blonde hair suddenly slid over his shoulder, swinging gently for a moment before stilling.

He didn’t move.

It was obvious he was somewhere far away.

Unsettled, the older pair gripped his shoulders gently and helped the sick young man lay back down on the bed. Wild simply lay where he had been pulled, completely unresisting, but also not helping in any way.

Once he was horizontal there was a beat of silence and then he gave a long, low sigh, eyes finally closing completely. He very quickly drifted off to sleep, eyes never reopening and mouth never closing fully.

‘Woah.’ Warriors muttered shakily, fiddling with the empty bottle in his hands. He turned wide eyes to Legend, who was looking more unsettled than the Captain had ever seen him.

‘That… that was weird right?’

Legend swallowed, for once unsure what to say. He nodded.

A long, long moment passed and Wild’s breathing deepened, the young man now moving into a deep, restful sleep, the other two too afraid to move for fear of disturbing him again.

They allowed a few minutes to tick by before Legend took in a galvanizing breath. 

‘I think he’s alright now.’ The veteran said quietly, eyes on the snoozing Wild. Warriors nodded, the dark circles under his eyes, suddenly looking as if they had been painted on in the dim light of the lantern above him.

‘Get some rest,’ Legend advised. He placed a hand on Wild’s forehead, noticing that although the young man’s eyelids flickered, the notoriously light sleeper didn’t move. ‘I think we’ll be ok for the night now he's had another potion. He should feel a lot better in the morning.’

Warriors nodded, eyes still a little wider than normal and leaned back in the chair. Legend following suit after a moment and laying down on the blanket nest he’d constructed. There were a few minute of the two older heroes listening to the deep, even breathing of Wild before they both gradually drifted off to sleep themselves.

O o O o O

It was light when Legend sat up with a start, the vestiges of strange dreams he was already starting to forget, fogging his mind for a moment.

He blinked and his eyes shifted to Wild, who was still fast asleep. It seemed the young man hadn’t moved from where he had landed after taking his medicine the night before. His cheeks were slightly flushed with the warmth of his blankets, and his mouth was just slightly open. He looked _utterly_ exhausted, but already much better than he had the night before.

With a sigh of relief, Legend’s eyes flicked to Warriors who was still sleeping, curled in the chair next to Wild’s bed, his head was at an angle that looked very uncomfortable and his mouth was wide open, a small amount of drool collecting in the corner of his mouth. His blue scarf unravelled and unrolled to create a makeshift blanket that barely covered him. His arms and legs were sticking out at strange angles from under it leaving the normally well-groomed young man looking like an overgrown child.

Legend huffed out a laugh, putting both hands over his mouth to stifle the sound. Wild’s sheikah slate, sitting on the table next to the bed, tempted him… this moment _needed_ to be immortalised. Words alone would be unable to do justice to the sight before him when he tried to explain it to the others.

The pink-haired man glanced at the slumbering Wild and let out another sigh.

Of resignation this time.

The archer was completely out cold. It wouldn’t be worth leaning over him for the slate and risk waking him when he so obviously needed the rest.

Legend _glared_ at Warriors. It was the least put-together he had ever seen Pretty Boy and he couldn’t even gather blackmail material.

The Captain suddenly gave a weird, choking soft snore and twitched, he smacked his lips a couple of times and then leant his head right back mouth so wide, Legend could see his back teeth.

With a sound that could have been half laugh, half sob and a swish of his tunic, the pink-haired man removed himself from temptation and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head injuries are weird. Amirite?
> 
> Can I just say thank you so much to everyone who left a comment yesterday? There were people who commented who never have before, all because they wanted me to know they were reading after I received one nasty comment. 
> 
> Thank you! I was in two minds about admitting someone sent me a rude comment. I didn’t want to ‘feed the troll’ but I also wanted any other authors the person may have commented on know they aren’t alone. I know how a negative comment like that can crush a person's confidence and stop them from writing.
> 
> This community is amazing and supportive, I’m so glad to be part of it. =) 
> 
> I hope you like this, it's a different direction to my normal stuff but I feel like I could happily continue this 'story' so it's given me some ideas for the future!


	7. Sketch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 4:30am, and I'm posting this now because I have a big exam today and need to concentrate on prep. 
> 
> I realise this is shorter than the chapters have been for the last few days, but it's still 1000 words, so I'm ok with leaving this as it is. <3

‘Urgh… what in Din’s name is _that_?!’ Legend muttered in disgust, catching a glimpse of Sky’s drawing.

The pair, on firewood duty, had seen a very large monster, stumping around on the plateau below. The creature was unfamiliar to both of them, so they’d made a bee-line back to camp and were now trying to describe the creature to the others to determine the level of potential threat it posed to the group.

Finally, struck by inspiration, the Skyloftian had reached for a pencil and his journal, flipping to a new page and starting to sketch. He was leaning over the rough paper awkwardly, the very tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated.

The young knight drew another, wobbly, line and then nodded in satisfaction, apparently pleased with the lopsided result.

‘Sky… _no!_ ’ Legend reached over and batted the other hero’s hand away from the pencil he was holding with a gentle, but exasperated, swipe of his heavily ringed hand.

He snatched the pad from Sky’s lap and held up the paper for a moment looking at the misshaped blob that Sky had drawn, his expression torn between amused and horrified.

He pointed at a strange protrusion on what he assumed was the creatures back. ‘What is _this_?’

‘Its tail.’ Sky answered promptly.

‘…what the fuck?’ The Vet whispered, his eyes glazed for a moment, clearly trying to remember the monster before slowly shaking his head. ‘It didn’t have a tail.’

‘It didn’t?’ Sky asked, confused. ‘I could have sworn …’ He rubbed a hand down his face, trailing off. 

Legend shook his head, baffled for a moment. ‘I don’t even understand what this is, and I was _there._ ’ He looked up again, confused now. ‘How is this so… abstract? I can't tell where its arms and legs are?!’

Sky brightened suddenly, as if remembering something important.

‘Oh! Sun told me once that most people can imagine pictures in their heads when they’re remembering things or thinking about something, but I’ve never been able to do that. I try to draw a face and I know a nose has to go on there _somewhere_ , but I can never figure out where to put it.’ He gave a lopsided grin and shrugged one shoulder.

Legend tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, shooting a critical look at Sky who smiled serenely back, unrepentant at his complete failure.

‘If you can’t draw from memory,’ Legend began with a steadying inhale, a hand to his forehead. ‘ _Why_ did you decide to try and draw the monster from memory?’

Sky shrugged again. ‘I’m pretty good at abstract things, like the patterns I carve. I thought if I remembered enough facts about the monster as I was drawing, someone might recognise it?’

The Veteran considered this and then with a dark smile and a graceful flick of his wrist, spun the picture around to face the others.

‘Well? Does anyone recognise… _this_?’

The others stared, at first glance it was difficult to know which way was up. The blob seemed to have several smaller blobs coming off it, but none of them were clearly identifiable or recognisable as anatomy of any kind.

‘Erm…’ Twilight’s eyebrows were almost at his hairline.

‘When I first woke up from the Shrine, I cooked a bunch of monster parts together with a piece of amber and a truffle...’ Wild interrupted his mentor absently, the connection between Sky’s masterpiece and his earliest attempts at cooking not immediately clear. He broke off, squinting. ‘… it kind of reminds me of that?’

‘I’ve seen some horrifying things in my time.’ Warriors began grimly, his hand on his chin and eyes on the page. ‘But… I think if I came face to face with _that_.’ He gestured vaguely with his free hand. ‘The fright would kill me.’

Wind nodded his agreement while Hyrule hid his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with soundless laughter.

‘It looks like the time that my loftwing tried to eat pumpkin soup and it made her sick.’ Sky added helpfully.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

‘But _Sky_.’ Four reminded gently, as if afraid for his friend’s mental health. ‘ _You_ drew this.’

Sky nodded slowly, expression somewhat mystified now that he was looking at the drawing again. He turned to look at Legend.

‘Now I’m looking at it again, it’s nothing like the monster we saw is it?’

Legend rolled his eyes heavenward. ‘Oh, for Din’s sake…’

He snatched up the abandoned pencil and looked down at the page for a moment, trying to remember the creature.

‘It looked more like this.’ He swept his hand in a confident, broad arc over the paper and began to draw the outline.

‘It had like… what?’ He glanced up at Sky then back down at the paper. ‘This massive fucking…horn thing..?’ He held his free hand up to demonstrate, eyes on the paper and the journal balanced on his knees. ‘…just right in the middle of its head.’

Sky blinked and leaned forwards to watch, forearms on his knees as the outline became more detailed. After a moment he began to nod along, the drawing taking shape and reminding him of what they’d seen.

The fifth protrusion he remembered wasn’t a tail after all, Legend was right, it was a horn.

‘And… these huge arms that were down to its knees.’ Warriors edged forwards and looked over the Veteran’s shoulder. He gave a low whistle, sharing an impressed, raised eyebrow with Time.

Hyrule touched Wind on the arm and flicked his eyes subtly at the page, when the pirate caught sight of the image he let out a slow, measured, breath.

Legend didn’t notice, but kept narrating, tone distracted, digging deep into his memory as he drew.

‘And…’ he looked vaguely irritated at the memory. ‘These _tiny_ fucking legs that shouldn’t have even held it up. But it kicked down a goddess-damned _tree_ when it was aiming for Sky. So, it’s stronger than it looks.’

He paused, blue eyes glazed for a moment, before adding with an oddly accepting tilt of his head that didn’t fit the commentary. ‘…shitty aim, though.’

He peered back down at his work and pursed his lips for a moment, adding a few final touches and, observing it critically before turning it around to face them.

There was an impressed inhale from the others.

Baffled he looked around the group, noticing they were all staring at either him, or the drawing he held.

He gestured impatiently at the paper, the back of one ringed hand hitting the thick, rough paper.

‘Well? Does anyone recognise this goddess-damned monstrosity?’

They stared. Although he had only used a single pencil, the Veteran had applied different pressure on the graphite, making some lines darker and thick and some finer, more detailed. The results were unmistakable as anything other than an anatomically correct recreation of a monster caught mid roar.

Oblivious, to their staring. Legend looked around at them. ‘Seriously? No one?’ He looked at the page, worrying his lip between his front teeth. ‘Is this a new kind of monster, then?’

Finally, sheepishly, Wild raised his hand.

‘I knew it was one of my moblins when you said it had a horn and long arms.’ He admitted, then looked at Sky and Legend in confusion. ‘Why didn’t you just say that before when you were trying to describe it?’ he wondered aloud.

Legend looked at him, startled. ‘What? Well, why the fuck didn’t you say something sooner?’

Wild grinned, in embarrassment, shuffling the toes of his boots in the dirt subtly. ‘I wanted to see what it looked like when you were done.’

‘Why didn’t you tell us you can draw?’ Warriors inquired stooping to look more closely at the picture. ‘That’s _quite_ the talent you’ve got there, Pink.’

Legend blushed, suddenly scarlet, eyes again flying around the group and realising they let him draw for far longer than he needed to.

‘Y-you bastards!’

They all ignored him.

‘It is _very_ good.’ Time agreed, a musing hand to his chin.

‘It almost looks like I took a picture on the slate.’ Wild volunteered, clearly impressed.

‘You could probably sell these!’ Wind agreed.

‘Can you draw other things? Or only monsters?’ Four asked curiously.

‘I don’t fucking _know_!’ Legend shot back with a huff. He looked overwhelmed by their sincerity.

‘We’re trying to compliment you, why are you so annoyed?’ Warriors laughed, hands on his hips.

Impossibly, Legend’s blush deepened. He shoved the journal back into Sky’s chest who grabbed it instinctively.

The Veteran levelled an angry finger at the group.

‘F-fuck you all!’ Still blushing to the tips of his ears stomped away into the forest, muttering.

There was a long pause.

‘I… hmmm…does anyone else think that maybe we should try to compliment him more often?’ Hyrule suggested.

Everyone nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The issue Sky has with not being able to picture something in his mind’s-eye is a real condition called Aphantasia. 
> 
> I looked into it a little, but didn’t have time to really do much research and it seems that people who have this condition can draw, but only more abstract things or from reference images. If they try to draw something like an apple from memory, they simply can’t picture it besides the facts they already know. Like, it’s round, has a flat bottom and is red. Apparently, a lot of people with this condition don’t realise they have it. 
> 
> (Edit: I realised when replying to someone that I forgot to mention something. Sky's quote about trying to draw a face, but now knowing where to put the nose is a real one from someone who has the condition. I don't remember where I got it from because it was EARLY, but if you ever see this... let me know and I'll credit you?) 
> 
> In another fic I mentioned that I headcanon that each of the boys has something that they’re truly terrible at… in Sky’s case, I feel like it might be drawing.


	8. Ambush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just... so long. And yet somehow has barely anything to do with an ambush besides the first little part? 
> 
> Oh lawd.

Wild hummed one of Kass' ballads quietly while he stirred the pot of creamy heart soup that was bubbling merrily on the cooking fire. He singled out a piece of truffle and smushed it against the side of the pot fishing it out and popping it into his mouth, checking to see if it was done. He grinned in satisfaction, still humming softly, the starchy root vegetables just needed to simmer for a few more minutes and then it would be ready to eat.

The last swap, several days ago, had been sudden. Landing them, unprepared, in the middle of one of Four’s many forests after weeks of traversing the frigid areas of Wild’s Lanaryu mountains. Instantly, the group had felt their clothes sticking to them, the hot, humid air, feeling like they were walking through a warm bath, the air heavy and thick. Despite changing into their coolest clothes, several members of the group seemed to be having trouble acclimatising to the balmier weather.

The Champion, strongly believing that food was the answer to 90% of life’s problems, had decided to make the cooling soup to help the others sleep through the humidity that clung to them, sticking in their throats and making it harder to breathe. He knew from experience that the big hearty truffles he’d used would make the broth richer and more satisfying as well as filling them up after their day of walking.

He tapped the ladle gently on the edge of the cooking pot, dislodging a couple of stubborn pieces of vegetable that were clinging to the wood and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

He didn’t know if it was a scuff of a foot, a grunted breath, or a branch being shifted, but he was suddenly on high-alert. He lifted his head, looking about the clearing, but could only see the others talking and laughing softly in a circle around the cooking fire.

He bit his lip, brow furrowing, sure something was off.

The glint of a blade had him moving before his brain caught up with his body, leaping towards Four and pushing the smallest hard in the shoulder, sending him sprawling backwards off the log he was sitting on with a squawk of surprise.

Wild backflipped, the swinging blade changing direction from Four to him at the last moment, missing his skin by millimetres and shaving several inches off one of his sideburns.

He felt the air stagnate and gelatinise around him and allowed himself a grim smile, as time around him seemed to slow.

He allowed his eyes to drift around the clearing, mentally plotting the positions of his friends and checking for any other threats in case the bokoblin that had ambushed Four wasn’t alone.

Slowed, as they were, he had a clear view of all of them. Four was still falling backwards off the log where the Champion had pushed him, eyes wide and bewildered, but already twisting, his arms thrown out to his sides in what Wild already knew would be a perfect break-fall.

Twilight, Sky and Warriors were halfway to their feet, standing in surprise and already reaching for their weapons. Sky, unarguably the best among them with a sword, already had his blade half unsheathed and Wild felt a twinge of admiration at the Skyloftian's reaction speed.

Time and Legend were spinning from their conversation, Time’s hair, and the end of Legend’s cap splayed out behind them as they rapidly turned their heads towards Four’s cry of alarm.

Hyrule had dropped his cup, the water streaming out of the wooden vessel as it began to fall to the ground, the very beginnings of pink magic stirring in his finger-tips and his eyebrows drawn low.

Wind appeared to have already noticed the bokoblin, both feet braced against the log he was sitting on, crouched, ready to spring forwards, a look of anger and fear on his face, hand gripping the hilt of his sword.

Wild took a breath and embraced his focus, eyes narrowing, he leaped, arm flashing out to strike the opportunistic bokoblin. He hit it rapidly, five, six, seven times before the air left his lungs in a swoosh and the time around him returned to normal.

There were several yells of warning and then a confused silence when the bokoblin gave a squeal and blackened into dust, its sword falling to the forest floor. Wild, standing next to the beast as if he’d teleported.

The heroes stared at the cook in astonishment, unsure what had happened.

He looked down at Four who was sitting, legs still up on the log, arms supporting him, eyes huge and a strand of hair over his eyes.

‘Holy shit…’ Wind breathed. ‘Wild… what was _that_?’

Wild looked over at him in confusion.

‘Oh! That’s a flurry rush.’ He explained absently. His eyes were drawn to the ladle in his hand, noticing the cracks that had developed in the smooth wood during the brief battle.

‘When I dodge just right it increases my focus and I can move really fast.’ He sighed and lowered his ruined cooking implement to his side.

‘I really liked this ladle.’ He added in a tone of soft regret.

The wide eyes of the others travelled down his arm, only now realising what the cook was holding.

What he had just _destroyed_ the bokoblin with.

Legend let out a bark of startled laughter, hands flying up to cover his mouth.

Time was staring at him with something incomprehensible, a little sad.

Warriors however, more accustomed than the others to using whatever weapon was at hand, grinned, helping a still befuddled looking Four to his feet.

‘I’m sure we can get you another one.’ He soothed.

Wild bobbed his head in acknowledgement and sighed, he tapped the wooden implement on his empty hand, not seeming surprised when the whole thing disintegrated with a snapping sound and a flurry of blue sparks.

‘Oh well.’ He muttered, wiping his hands on his tunic. Nonchalant, he moved to the edge of their clearing, moving a few handfuls of long grass aside before finding a sturdy tree branch about as thick as his thumb. He carried it wordlessly back to the pot and washed it with the water from his canteen, sticking it into the pot and giving the creamy heart soup a final stir.

It was obvious this was something he had done many, _many_ times.

Although, outwardly, Wild did not seem to be terribly worried about the loss of his cooking tool, the others knew him well enough to tell he was more upset than he was letting on.

Four stared down guiltily.

He couldn’t help but feel responsible, if he had been more aware of his surroundings, Wild might have had the opportunity to grab a more appropriate weapon rather than just rushing forwards with what he’d been holding.

As he watched Wild try to test the doneness of the vegetables in the soup using the stick he’d picked up, the Smithy had a sudden idea. They were in _his_ Hyrule, they were already heading to _his_ house, to his _forge_.

He could make Wild a set of cooking knives.

Four accepted his bowl of soup with a grateful smile, already plotting how he could keep Wild distracted for long enough that he wouldn’t find out about the plan.

O o O o O

He needn’t have worried.

After three days of cooking salt-grilled steak and blackened fish as they journeyed to Four’s house, Wild had gasped audibly when the short teen had given him a tour of his fully stocked kitchen.

Without missing a beat, he had gently but firmly shooed the laughing Smithy out of his own kitchen with dancing eyes and a small grin.

The group were on their own, Four’s Grandpa had left a rather crumpled looking note on the well-scrubbed wooden table, apparently in case they arrived during his absence. His friend had been thrown from a horse and he was going to help out at a nearby farm for several days while he recuperated from a nasty ankle sprain.

With little else to do, the others sat at the table in the next room finalising their plan. Over the past few days, Four had managed to pull them aside one-by-one to inform them of his idea, discussing in secret how they could pool their skills so each hero could contribute to the gift.

All that was left now, was to figure out how to distract Wild so he wouldn’t notice them disappearing one-by-one.

The object of their focus was completely oblivious to their scheme. Puttering around the kitchen as he cut mushrooms into quarters, taking his time and enjoying the process in a way that he hadn’t for the three days since he’d broken his ladle.

Without thinking he began to hum softly, not noticing as the eight heads at the table all shot up to look at him in surprise.

Somewhere on his journey, the Champion had developed a habit of humming absent-mindedly when he cooked. It was a subtle quirk that the young man didn’t seem entirely aware of, but none of the others had missed the significance of his humming stopping the same day his ladle broke.

Wild reappeared holding several plates of eggs, mushrooms, toast and bacon, putting them on the table and letting the others help themselves. 

‘Ok.’ He announced with a soft clap of his hands and clear eyes. ‘I’m banning you all from the kitchen today. I’ve got a plan for dinner and none of you are allowed to see it until it’s done.’

Dutifully the others acknowledged his words, forking eggs into their mouths and exchanging secretive smiles over their food. With Wild distracting himself in the kitchen, the group sneaking off one-by-one to do their part without the Champion noticing would be a piece of cake.

O o O o O

‘Right.’ Legend began.

He’d replaced his signature blue cap with a bandana, and had changed into a short-sleeved tunic.

He gave an ironic grin.

‘Oh great and powerful blacksmith, instruct me in your ways.’

Four smiled back. His own hair had been scraped back off his face and neck into a short ponytail, and he was wearing long, thick gloves that went up to his elbows and a thick leather apron, spotted with black scorch marks, over his tunic.

He had snuck out during breakfast to light the forge, the air around the furnace already _shimmering_ with heat.

‘The moulds.’ He said decisively, he pointed over his shoulder towards a far wall near the bellows. ‘I want to make a full set, so we’ll need one of each of them.’

Legend nodded and headed to the wall, sorting through the moulds carefully. He knew from his own, unfinished, apprenticeship how important order was in an environment as dangerous as an active forge and was happy to take Four’s lead.

The Veteran shot a look over his shoulder to see his friend biting his lip, sorting through the ore that was stored in the forge, choosing a combination of metals that would be both strong and durable as well as holding its sharp edge. His expression was somehow both focussed on the task in front of him and a million miles away, as if he was lost in his thoughts. 

He allowed himself a small smile, clearly Four was in his element.

He picked what was needed and headed back, ready to help his friend start tempering the steel.

O o O o O

There was a huge gush of steam as Four doused the last raw blade in water, the white-hot metal quickly fading to black as it cooled.

‘Ok.’ Four said, eyes glinting in satisfaction and cheeks tinged pink from the heat. He wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist and looked up at Legend.

‘Can you go and get Sky and Time while I keep cooling these? I think we’re ready to start with the handles.’

Legend smiled and gave him a casual, three fingered salute, heading out of the forge. The cool air outside the forge hit him like a physical blow and he gave a sigh of relief, shooting a look back into the dim light of the forge to see Four checking the finish on one of the blades, completely unaffected by the relentless heat.

Removing the bandana from his hair and using it to wipe the sweat from his face he quietly entered the house to see the whole group, except Wild sitting in the living room obviously waiting.

He raised a questioning eyebrow at Wind who smiled.

‘He hasn’t even left the kitchen.’ He said softly. ‘And he’s _still_ humming.’

Legend felt his eyes soften slightly, and then gestured at Sky and Time. ‘You two are up.’ He stretched and moved towards the stairs as the two quietly left the room.

‘I’m going to wash my face.' He muttered, moving towards the stairs. 'It’s as hot as a Goron’s balls in there.’

O o O o O

Time and Sky entered the forge to a flurry of sparks and a wall of heat.

They stood for a moment, watching Four hammer away at the tempered steel of the blades. His brow was lowered in concentration, but his eyes were gleaming, his short ponytail swinging easily with the movement of his arm, working the soft metal to a rhythm only he understood.

Finally, he doused the blade he was working on and then sprinkled it with black sand, shoving it back into the forge to reheat.

He pulled the next blade from the flames with his heavy iron tongs, the metal glowing white hot and placed it on his anvil. He reached for his hammer, swinging it and turning the metal with the tongs in between strikes.

After a minute he doused the blade, steam again filling the forge.

‘Four.’ Time rumbled, trying to catch his attention. ‘Legend said you were ready for us?’

Four looked up and stared for a moment, miles away, before coming back to them with a blink.

‘Oh! Yes.’ He wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist, leaving a smudge of black soot.

‘There are some pieces of handle stock in the corner behind the ore. They need to be resized, shaped and decorated. I’ve written the measurements of the blades down, so other than that you have free reign. There’s some larger pieces too for the ladles.’ His eyes shot back to the forge when the sand on one of the knives popped.

‘There are carving tools on the far wall.’ He mumbled distractedly, edging away, obviously keen to get back to work before the metal overheated and ruined the tempering.

‘Leave it to us!’ Sky grinned, Time nodded his agreement with a soft smile and Four grinned gratefully, turning back to the ore.

The two older heroes moved to the neatly organised wood pile, far out of reach of the sparks from the forge and began to sift through, looking for the right pieces. 

The sound of Four hammering started up behind them again.

‘Goddess, Legend was right, it’s so _hot_.’ Sky breathed, already glistening with sweat. He fanned himself helplessly with one hand.

Time nodded in agreement. ‘Let’s take some pieces and sit out behind the forge, out of sight of the main house.’ He hummed in thought. ‘If we’re playing to our strengths, I can do the rough shape if you can do the finer detail?’

Sky nodded with an easy smile.

O o O o O

‘Hyrule and Wind.’ Sky said softly when the re-entered the house, gesturing to the pair. ‘The handles are ready to sand!’

With a shared, excited grin, the pair got up.

‘He still won’t let us in the kitchen,’ Hyrule advised them. ‘But Wild brought out some skewers, he asked where you all were, and we told him you were helping Four chop some wood for his Grandpa.’ he snorted and shook his head.

‘Can you take Four some lunch?’ Time asked the pair. ‘I don’t think he’s going to remember to eat by himself.’ A snort from Legend, and a nod from Sky had the old man hiding his grin. It seemed he wasn’t the only one to notice that the young man seemed to be getting a bit lost in his work.

‘Sure!’ Wind agreed easily, placing a healthy serving of skewers on a plate for the smithy.

They entered the forge to a rasping sound as Four worked on shaping the blades.

‘Woah!’ Wind breathed, leaning forwards to see the gleaming metal more clearly.

Four looked up and smiled, hands pausing for a moment when he saw them.

‘Ah! Time for sanding already?’

Wind shook his head, placing the plate on the table. ‘Time for lunch.’ He corrected.

Four’s stomach rumbled suddenly, and he flushed. He pulled off a long glove and reached for a skewer, munching into it without hesitation.

‘These look great!’ Hyrule exclaimed, eyes on the blades.

Four hummed critically through his food. ‘They’re getting there.’ He had several smears of black ash on his face now. ‘Still have to finish shaping, polishing and sharpening.’ He allowed himself a small, proud, smile. ‘But they’re getting there.’

He nodded to his friends. ‘There are different grades of sandpaper in the corner.’ He gestured. ‘You two know what you’re doing?’

Wind grinned and nodded. ‘Yep, I used to sand the new planks for the boats back home when the salt got into the old ones. I’ll show Roolie how it’s done.’

Four flashed a thumbs up.

O o O o O

Twilight and Warriors entered the forge to the sound of scraping. Four was sitting on a tall stool, his long gloves had been removed but he still wore his leather apron as he worked the whetstone along the length of the blades.

There was a plate next to him on the bench, the sticks from the skewers he’d eaten placed neatly on top.

‘Hey!’ Wars greeted, as they entered.

In a move that looked remarkably difficult, Four wrenched his eyes from the blades in front of him.

‘Hey!’ He replied finally. He gestured at the finished handles on the bench next to him.

‘We’re ready to put the finished blades in the handles.’ He said. ‘Then you can stain and oil. I’m not quite done with all of the blades yet, so I’ll finish these up while you two are happy to do that?’

‘Sounds perfect.’ Twilight approved, he and Warriors taking their own seats at the bench with Four. The young Smithy had laid out what they needed for this step, lining up the correct handle with the correct blade. Some glue, oil, stain and several brushes.

‘These are beautiful!’ Warriors breathed. Twilight nodding along, eyes wide both staring at the intricate leaf and flower design that the others had worked into the wood and the pattern of the folded metal Four had wrapped over the stronger, steel. They were ergonomic, thinner towards the top and thicker towards the bottom to be comfortable to hold for hours at a time. It was obvious that the knives were built to last.

Four nodded. ‘I’ve never thought of making the handles that shape before. Everyone’s done a really good job.’ He smiled softly, eyes back on his work as he continued sharpening the blades and checking them for inconsistencies. ‘Wild’s going to love them.’

Twilight grinned and the three of them fell into an easy rhythm. Four finishing the blades one by one and handing them to Twilight who would carefully hammer them into place with the glue and metal pegs that Four had provided.

He would then apply a thin layer of wood stain to the handle, bringing out the delicate grain and would pass them to Warriors who, used to oiling steel from polishing his armour and maintaining his weapons, would dab the first layer of oil onto the metal, using a soft cloth to rub the oil along the length of the knife, keeping his fingers from the razor sharp edge.

Once he was done, he’d pass the completed knife to Four once again and the Smith would check them critically. Looking for imperfections and checking their balance.

Finally, Four wiped his hands on a soft cloth and smiled tiredly, his eyes on the finished blades. ‘They're done. We did it.’

He stood back with a sigh, untying his heavy apron and pulling it over his head. ‘You guys can head in, I’ll just tidy up out here and will be in soon. Then we can give these to Wild.’

A small, excited, smile crossed between them.

O o O o O

Their timing was perfect. They had made it inside and Four had had just enough time to wash his face to remove the sweat, soot and ash from his day in the forge, coming downstairs to see Wild carrying a large roast bird on a tray to the rough, wooden table. The Champion placed it down carefully and smiled. Hands on his hips.

Four shook his head slowly when he caught sight of the table, groaning with plates and dishes. He didn’t think his humble kitchen had ever been used to create such a feast before. Wild seemed to have cooked everything in his slate.

He'd made a large joint of roast meat, dark brown on the outside, but pink in the centre, an entire roast bird that was stuffed with wildberries and chickaloo nuts, coated in butter and spices and cooked until it was a perfect, golden, brown.

Several salads, including one of Four's personal favourites featuring roast mushroom and goat’s cheese and one heavenly smelling concoction that seemed to be glistening with dry-roasted, warm safflina and chunks of smoked, hearty salmon.

He had also roasted several of every root vegetable he’d been able to get his hands on and had created several different sauces to cater for all of their tastes. A creamy, lemon sauce, spiked with fresh herbs; a thick, rich gravy; and a tarty, elegant mix of wildberries and apples.

Making a noise of pleased satisfaction, Wild stood back with a small smile, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the feast before them.

‘I’ve made a couple of cakes and a tray of cookies too.’ He announced, taking his seat and gesturing for the others to do the same. ‘For dessert.’

‘You spoil us, Cub.’ Time managed finally, unblinking eyes on the dish of fried wild greens they all knew was his favourite. The others nodded in weakly agreement.

Wild shook his head and watched, pleased as they began to help themselves.

Wind seemed to be vibrating where he sat, unable to contain his excitement anymore.

‘We made you something too.’ He finally blurted, without preamble.

Wild blinked surprised and looked up from the platter of salad that was in front of him. His eyes drifted around the table to see them all smiling.

‘Me?’ He asked.

Wind nodded, vigorously. ‘All of us, mainly Four, but we all helped!’

With a roll of his eyes at the blushing Sailor, Four reached under the table and wordlessly held out a polished wooden box.

‘Ooooh.’ Wild said softly, taking it gently. He rubbed the surface with one hand reverently. ‘It’s beautiful. What did I do for you to make me this?’

Several snickers came from the boys and Legend rolled his eyes again.

‘How about _opening_ it, dumbass?’ he muttered sarcastically, toying nervously with his fork.

Hyrule shot him a warning look and the Vet shrugged, unrepentant.

To his credit, Wild simply grinned and tugged open the box, his mouth falling open in astonishment. He turned baffled eyes to his friends.

‘W-what…?’ he trailed off, holding the box awkwardly. ‘How? _…why?_ ’

Four laughed. ‘I’m a blacksmith.’ He reminded him. ‘Legend’s an apprentice. We made the blades.’ He paused for a moment, noting Wild’s expression of wide-eyed wonder before adding.

‘Did... you know that blacksmiths make more than just swords?’

From the look on Wild’s face it was clear he had no idea of the intricacies of being a smith.

Sky laughed. ‘Do you like them?’

Wild, speechless looked into the box again.

They had made him a full set of cooking knives, two different sizes of ladle, a pair of serving spoons and a wooden fork.

Four had also included a whetstone and a polishing cloth as well as a small bottle of oil to look after the wood.

‘I _love_ it.’ He said softly, holding the box in gentle hands, running his finger along the delicate carving in the handle of the cleaver, noticing the beautiful pattern of the folded metal in the blade. He looked up, eyes determined and clear.

‘Tomorrow, I’m going to make you all a goddess-damned _feast_.’ His eyes roamed over the piles of food he’d spent all day preparing for them.

‘Umm… even more of one...’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I imagine the folded steel of the blades Four made looks like...  
> https://thechefdojo.com/japanese-knives-guide/ 
> 
> My browser history is going to be a weird mess by the end of this challenge.
> 
> At some point I want to write something about Time's impression of the flurry-rush. But this was long enough for one day. 
> 
> ALSO, does anyone know if there's a way to stop my reply comments from counting towards the 'comment number'? I've been trying to reply to everyone because I get so many fantastic ideas from comments, and interacting really helps, but it's like... doubling the comment count which is a bit shitty.
> 
> I hope you like it!  
> Lala <3


	9. Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *manic laughter* I’m trying something different. 
> 
> I’m going to make someone CRY. So warning for emotional angst? 
> 
> No one gets hurt, just some emotional release that has been a LONG time coming...

Something was very wrong with the Hero of Legend.

The Veteran had been on a downward spiral ever since they’d first arrived at Lon Lon Ranch and the his eyes had met the deep burnt auburn of Malon’s hair, the hero falling into a stunned silence when she’d first walked around the corner of the ranch and embraced her husband warmly with a musical laugh and flash of sparkling green eyes.

Without explanation, or warning, in the few hours they had been at Time’s home, he had progressed rapidly from his normal biting sarcasm and cutting humour into real anger. Snapping at the others for the smallest thing, the dark expression in his eyes unable to hide that all was not well despite his lopsided smirk.

The final straw was when Malon had moved from the kitchen, with a rustle of skirts and a tray in her hands, piled high with delicate china and treats. Naturally, she had served her husband first, the casual, intimate act of her pouring tea, adding the right amount of milk and sugar without having to ask him had been the Veteran’s undoing.

Giving him a flash of insight into what _could_ have been if the Goddess didn’t hate him so much. A white-hot rage filled his chest, tears burning at the back of his eyes.

A sudden rattle of china on china had them all looking down, Legend as astonished as the rest of them to see the delicate cup and saucer in his hand were shaking violently. With a startled gasp, he put it down quickly, the movement somewhat clumsy, a small amount of tea spill over the rim and onto the starched white table cloth.

He hung his head to hide his expression. Breathing deeply and clenching his fists tightly, hands hidden under the rough wood of Time’s kitchen table.

Despite himself, Legend looked up when Time stood from the table, the scrape of the chair on the wooden floor startling the others. A deep, weighted silence filled the room.

The stern, searching, look on the older man’s face simply made the jaded young Veteran’s feel even more out of control, he dug his nails even harder into the palm of his hands. The others watched concerned as his face turned up into an uncharacteristic snarl at the older man, eyebrows low and teeth bared.

Time’s inscrutable expression shifted slightly, softened and hardened all at once. He gestured with one hand.

‘Legend. Come with me.’

Without waiting to check that the other was following, Time strode through the door. Out into the rain that had been falling all afternoon and towards the barn.

Slowly, shakily, Legend rose to his feet and followed him, feeling the worried eyes of the others boring into the back of his head, trying to ignore the growing feeling of unease in his chest and hide the flinches in his body as the rain began to increase and the storm began in earnest around them.

Lightning and the ominous rumble of thunder continuing almost non-stop ni the distance.

Once they were through the barn door, Time spun and fixed Legend with his eye, hands on his hips.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘What the fuck? You’re more hopeless than I thought Old Man.’ He snarled. The white-hot fury from before was back. Something hollow and black hiding right underneath that he was too scared to acknowledge, afraid that he’d tumble in headfirst and never come back out.

Time’s eye narrowed, searching Legend’s expression and the Veteran stared right back.

‘… ever since we arrived. Something’s wrong. You can talk to me. I understand’

At his words, the Veteran felt something inside him, something vital, _snap_.

His expression turned to ice, every line in his body tense as a bow string, taught and ready to fight.

Time’s eye widened in astonishment at his sudden posture change, he uncrossed his arms, something soft and compassionate crossing his face, his mouth already framing his next words.

But Legend, already beginning to lose himself, didn’t notice.

‘Understand? You think you can _understand_ with your perfect life and beautiful wife? You have no idea what you’re talking about you stupid, fucking…’ Legend trailed off, gasping, apoplectic with a rage so complete it had taken even him by surprise, leaving him breathless.

‘ _You have no idea_.’ Venom was dripping from his voice. ‘ _No, fucking idea.’_

He could feel his whole body shaking with an icy rage. He looked up at Time, expecting to see disappointment or anger in the other man’s face, but only saw only a genuine, startled, sympathy.

He growled, deep in his chest and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. He didn’t want sympathy, he wanted to be angry. Anger was safer. The unfathomable blackness he could sense inside him began to swell up, starting to overtake the rage and replace it with a helpless sorrow.

‘Legend…’ The other began softly.

He took a step forwards and Legend, unthinkingly flinched back half a step, he put a hand to his forehead, dizzy at his unexpected rush of emotion and trying to force it back down, to rekindle the anger.

‘What the _fuck_ are you looking at?’ Legend _snarled_ when Time only continued to stare, expression kind in the face of his anger.

Very slowly, so Legend could see the movement, Time reached out and placed a hand on his cheek. He pulled it away showing the Veteran the wetness on his hands.

Legend gasped and reached up towards his eyes.

He was crying. _Really_ crying.

The tears falling fast and unchecked, unleashed by his sudden, helpless, fear and fury.

He sucked in a breath, trying desperately to calm himself. Staggered back a step, arms wrapping around his middle.

His throat hurt, his chest felt like something heavy was pressing down on it, the blackness began to overwhelm him.

‘ _Legend_ …’ Time said again, soft and compassionate.

Legend looked up, startled by the tone and felt his composure begin to weaken at the genuine care and worry on the stoic older man’s face.

Still moving very slowly and deliberately, Time stepped forwards, wrapping the shorter man gently in a warm embrace.

Legend’s breath stopped completely, and Time began to rub his back in small, gentle circles.

‘Breathe.’ He encouraged after a long moment. ‘Legend, you have to _breathe_.’

It was as if he was asking for something impossible. Legend was frozen, his lungs wouldn’t work, he’d forgotten _how_ to breathe.

The edges of his vision begin to darken with lack of oxygen, but he _couldn’t_ force his mouth to suck in a breath. He knew if he did, he’d break completely.

He’d never felt this close to falling apart in front of someone else before.

Not even Ravio.

Not even… _Marin_ ….

Marin. The sadness of seeing what his life could have been like with Marin if the Goddess had only allowed it took over the rage.

He shook his head, staggered, dizzy, pushing the intrusive thoughts away, but Time caught him around the shoulders, pulling him back in to his chest again.

He put a gentle hand to the Veteran’s hair, running through it softly, hugging Legend in a way the Veteran couldn’t ever remember being held. Unjudgmental. Understanding.

Legend keened softly unable to contain it and finally sucked in a breath. He staggered again when the oxygen rushed to his head, finally remembering how to breathe, and he tightened his arms around Time for both comfort and balance.

Time gave a low hum in his chest of sudden understanding and wrapped his arms more securely around his shoulders.

With a low sob, Legend finally allowed himself the to give into the comfort he was being offered, burying his face in the soft fleece of Time’s tunic.

His chest hitched and he swore at himself mentally for allowing himself to show such weakness, but Time never faltered, simply humming softly and holding him gently. One hand tracing through his hair, the other rubbing soothing circles on his back.

The thunderstorm that had been rumbling in the distance all afternoon began in earnest, lightning branched past the window, closely followed by a boom of thunder so loud dust was shaken from the rafters of the old barn.

Legend flinched, fists clutching even tighter. His whole body was shaking so hard he felt like he was vibrating. His chest burned from holding his emotions in.

‘It’s ok.’ Time mumbled. ‘Just let it out, you’ll feel so much better. You don’t always have to be so strong.’

Finally, taking both of them by surprise, Legend _broke_ , giving in to the blackness he’d been trying to suppress.

His knees gave out with a cry and only Time’s arms around him stopped him from falling bonelessly to the floor.

He let out a great gust of air, his whole frame shaking, chest and throat aching, unable to contain all of the raw emotion he was feeling.

He sucked in another breath, the air escaping him again with a soft, drawn-out, cry that continued until his lungs were empty, he sucked in another breath and again, couldn’t hold back the sound.

He sobbed, channelling all of his feelings of anger, shame, frustration and loss into his sadness.

For the first time in years, he allowed himself to grieve.

To feel the fear that always rose when he was near a thunderstorm.

To feel the loss and the memories that accompanied it.

To feel the resentment and _jealousy_ , and then the guilt and anger of seeing Malon and Time together.

 _Happy_.

Time, apparently able to hear all the emotions Legend couldn’t verbally express in his sobs and in the rigidity of his form simply wrapped his arms around him even tighter.

For a long, long time Legend lost himself completely. Unable to do anything but give into the grief, anger and sorrow that was consuming him.

He could feel Time’s hands and arms, grounding him. But he lost everything else. He didn’t know how much time had passed, how long he clutched to the older man, how long he cried. Until eventually, after what felt like _weeks_ , his exhausted body finally stopped and he didn’t have the energy to squeeze out even one more tear.

Dazed and wrung out, Legend looked up and was surprised to see that Time’s face too bore the evidence of tear tracks. It seemed that something in Time had connected to the normally stoic Legend’s uncharacteristic outburst of emotion causing him to grieve along with the Veteran even if he didn’t entirely understand what had been lost.

Meeting his eyes, Time huffed a small laugh, eyes full of compassion and Legend realised that at some point the Old Man had sat them down on the dusty floor of the barn. The young man seated in Time’s lap as the older man held him.

‘Are you ok?’

Legend simply nodded dizzily, glassy eyed. Exhausted and limp. He wasn’t able to answer.

It had been a long time since his emotions had stolen his voice, not since his last adventure.

He knew that nothing he did now would be able to force any coherent words past his lips. Not until he had had a chance to piece himself back together.

Absolutely wrecked from his emotional outburst, Legend allowed himself to tilt his head sideways until it met the warmth of Time’s shoulder. He let his eyes drift closed, arms and legs unresponsive and too heavy to move.

Time, however, understood and simply sat where they’d landed in the middle of the dusty barn floor, rocking gently and continuing to rub soft circles on the younger’s back.

Gradually the storm receded, the sound of thunder and rain leaving to be replaced by the calming sounds of the ranch.

Legend drifted between sleep and wakefulness, still overwrought and unable to do anything more than simply focus on his breathing.

At one point, he heard the barn door open and two sets of footsteps approach.

He opened his eyes slightly, a sliver of blue peeking out behind long, weighted eyelashes to catch a glimpse of red hair. Chainmail and a long, blue scarf.

He felt a soft hand on his forehead.

He forced his ears to listen through the haze of exhaustion.

‘We were all really worried about him, he hasn’t been like himself all day. We decided to come and check when the storm was over.’

A man. Warriors, tone more concerned than the Vet had heard him since the Sailor had almost been skewered by a lizalfos.

‘He hasn’t even moved. I don’t think he’s even really blinking.’ A pause, another hand in his hair on his upper arm, he knew his eyes were unfocussed and dull but was still just trying to _breathe_.

‘He’s really out of it, are you sure he’s alright.’

‘He doesn’t have a fever.’ A woman. Malon, said quietly, she sounded worried.

‘He’s ok.’ A rumble, vibrating against the side of his face. Time.

‘I think he’s just been holding on to far, _far_ , too much for far too long.’ A weary sigh. ‘He’s got more adventures under his belt than any of us, I think there is a lot he’s never let himself come to terms with. I don’t know what happened exactly, but it seems that seeing Malon awoke something in him.’

A shift against his cheek. ‘Sorry Love.’ Time whispered to his wife.

‘No.’ She replied quietly. ‘I know how hard your journeys are, for all of you. Things like this don’t happen without cause. The poor darling.’ She finished on a whisper, sounding so sad that Legend blinked, forcing his eyes to focus.

Warriors and Malon were looking down at him, still cushioned in Time’s lap, his head resting against the elder’s shoulder.

‘Well, hey.’ Warriors greeted him softly with a lop-sided smile. He crouched down so they were eye-to-eye. ‘You look like _absolute_ shit.’

Legend simply nodded, acknowledging the fact but still unable to speak.

Warriors sighed, compassionate and understanding. He placed a gentle hand on Legend’s shoulder and then stood again.

‘He’s _completely_ wiped out.’ He confirmed to Time. ‘We’ve got to get him inside, you two can’t sit out here like this all night.’

A rumble of agreement was Time’s answer and then Legend felt soft hands on his shoulders, lifting him and supporting him while Time stood.

Too drained to care, Legend simply allowed his eyes to drift closed again, the haze filling his mind intensifying and turning the ongoing conversation around him into white noise.

It was quiet inside the house. Legend could tell it was very late, they must have been in the barn for hours.

Another set of footsteps came towards them, light and quick. A gentle hand on the side of his face. He didn’t even have to open his eyes to identify this person. The hand smelled vaguely of safflina and amaranth. The person didn’t speak but simply hummed in understanding sympathy. Wild.

The footsteps retreated, quick and purposeful, and he was lowered onto the couch by the fire. Head settling onto something soft and warm. A new voice murmured something indistinguishable, adding to the cacophony, a hand settled gently on his shoulder, soothing, comforting.

A blanket dropped over him.

Wild’s footsteps returned and something warm was pressed to his lips. He opened his eyes a crack to see the Chef crouched in front of him, a cup of something held between his hands.

A slight eye movement and he could see the edge of the sailcloth under his cheek, the soft thing his head was resting on must have been Sky’s lap. The Skyloftian gently carding his hand through his hair, the other resting on his shoulder.

Time approached with another blanket, draping it over his form, the extra weight soothing and comforting him.

He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, allowing Wild to tip some of the warm liquid into his mouth.

A swallow and a pleasant feeling of numbness began to spread through his body.

His aching head, throat and chest began to loosen and with a small sigh he was out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's going to be ok, you guys. He needed that. 
> 
> This isn't where this chapter was going originally. Originally, I was going to make the prompt crack, but just... couldn't get it to work so I abandoned it. 
> 
> I don't know what's going on with the chapter I abandoned, but I might try and figure out why it didn't work, fix it up and post it another day... but maybe not. 
> 
> I kind of like this one though <3
> 
> Oh, and a heads-up. I won't have as much time to work on tomorrow's chapter, so it will be shorter and more unpolished, but I have to write a job application AND a first draft of an assignment. This challenge is so weird, it's like you're all living a month of my life with me. 
> 
> Lala <3


	10. Horse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of fluff for your Sunday <3

‘Oh!’ Wild mumbled, looking down at his slate and catching Twilight’s attention. ‘It’s August 1!’

Twilight looked over curiously. ‘Is that a special date?’

Wild made a so-so gesture with his hand and shrugged one shoulder.

‘Zelda told me that, before the Calamity, the horses of Hyrule’s royal guard were all given the same birthday so that it was easy to know how old each one was and how much training it needed. So, I kept that tradition going with my own horses.’ He shrugged again. ‘So today is my horses’ birthday.’ He looked around them, biting his lip and shot a wary glance at Twi who was watching, interested.

‘I do have a horse at my house in Hateno and we _do_ need to stock up on a few things.’ He hedged. He paused again, fiddling with his slate and looking up from underneath his lashes. ‘I could … I could be there and back in a day?’

The Rancher rubbed the back of his hair looking around the campsite.

Everyone else was already occupied, doing laundry or repairing clothes, polishing and sharpening weapons and armour. After several days of hard trekking, the group had decided to take advantage of a rare day off to catch up on the fiddly little chores that gone neglected and to give their bodies a chance to rest.

Twilight smiled and gestured at the others with a broad sweep of his arm. ‘I think they can do without us for a day.’

Wild tilted his head, cautious, strangely hopeful. ‘…us?’

‘We really shouldn’t go off individually with these black-blooded monsters around, Cub.’ Twi pointed out softly. ‘Besides, if you’re happy for me to come, I’d love to meet your horse. I love animals and have a soft spot for horses’

A sudden, startled, smile lit up Wild’s whole face. ‘Ok!’

Before Twilight could protest, Wild had already grabbed his arm and begun to flick through his slate.

‘Oh! No! Wild _wait a min_ -…’ The Rancher said, urgently, realising what the other was doing.

He looked urgently around the clearing, to see Warrior’s surprised blue eyes looking in their direction, the Captain's lips already beginning to turn up at the corners at the look on Twilight's face. 

He felt suddenly weightless, his words leaving him at the same time his feet left the ground. With a disorienting feeling that was somehow familiar, Twilight watched the clearing around them disappear in blue strands of light, just as Wars started laughing.

Almost instantly, he felt himself begin to rematerialize, leaving behind a strange sense of vertigo and reminding him why teleporting felt so familiar. It was the same strange sense of disorientation that he had gotten when he first entered the Twilight Realm and transformed into a wolf. The memories of his adventure washed over him unexpectedly, colliding with the light-headedness and making his hands and feet tingle.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath through his nose, managing not to stagger through sheer force of will. He clenched and unclenched his hands rhythmically for a moment trying to bring his circulation back.

‘Cub.’ He began evenly, eyes still closed and trying to suppress the dizziness and memories. ‘We didn’t even tell them we were leaving.’ He felt Wild’s hand, still gripped on his upper arm, steadying him from the teleportation stiffen.

‘Ah…’ the Champion muttered, the apology in his tone clear. ‘I can go back and…’

Twilight waved a hand, finally opening his eyes and looking around. ‘It’s alright, Warriors saw us leave.’

He stepped away from Wild, allowing the other’s hand to slip from his arm, and down from the shrine platform they had materialised on, looking around in interest.

They were on the outskirts of the largest settlement of Hylians Twilight had seen so far in Wild’s era. Several small children ran by, laughing and shouting, they waved to Wild as they passed, obviously used to the Champion appearing out of thin air. With a smile, Wild waved back.

A strange shadow on the ground caught his eye and, distracted, he looked up, smiling when he noticed the windmills at the top of the tallest buildings. The gentle ticking sound of the blades spinning around mixed with the laughter of the children and the smells of baking bread from somewhere further in the village.

A small smile graced his face, he could instantly see why Wild had chosen to live here.

‘So this is Hateno village?’

Wild nodded bashfully and looked around, his fondness for the place obvious in his expression.

Suddenly, with a small gasp, Wild remembered their mission and grinned, surprising his friend. ‘C’mon, I’ll show you my house and you can meet my horse. I’m going to give her _so_ many apples.’

He jumped off the platform and began weaving his way through the village, following a path leading away from the main village that, from its overgrown state was barely used. Twi followed right next to him, noticing with interest that Wild already seemed more relaxed. His shoulders were lower, and his steps more fluid, the tension that he normally carried bleeding out of him.

This was his _home_.

The people of this town didn’t know him as the Champion, or the Hero. They knew, of course, that he was an accomplished swordsman. It was impossible to see him as anything else, always travelling with a weapon strapped to his back and coming back from his adventures with trinkets and materials that were only available in the most dangerous places in the kingdom.

The people here simply knew his as Link, a mysterious traveller who always brought back souvenirs for the children and made the best apple pie in the village.

They reached a row of strangely box-like houses and Twi looked up, curious and distracted by the unusual shape and bright colours.

‘Ah, those are made by the Bolson construction company.’ Wild mumbled. ‘They’re designed to be quick to construct so we can start rebuilding towns that were lost during the Calamity.’ He trailed off, eyes growing distant and Twilight knew that he was blaming himself, but to his surprise, Wild blinked out of it quickly and pointed a finger at a lone house across a wooden bridge.

‘That’s my house.’ He mumbled, pride and embarrassment warring in his voice.

‘Wow!’ The older man breathed, his eyes drifting over the little cottage, honestly not expecting the wild-child to have a house that looked so permanent and well-tended. ‘It’s beautiful.’

Wild blushed at the genuine praise and bewilderment in the older hero’s voice and fiddled with the end of his hair for a moment, obviously not knowing what to say.

‘Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Come on!’ He led the way towards a lit cooking pot under a beautiful tree where there were two strange men sitting on the ground.

The Rancher noticed with amusement that they were eyeing him with the same curiosity he was giving them. He hadn’t met many people in Wild’s Hyrule with the obvious exceptions of the stablemasters and innkeepers that had been so happy and hospitable to see a large group of travellers in their barren world.

‘Bolson, Karson, this is my friend Twilight.’ Wild said quietly. ‘Twi, these are the men who renovated my house and built the square houses on the other side of the stream.’

‘Link!’ Bolson began with an exaggerated, affected tone. ‘It’s been so long since we’ve seen you!’ He eyed Twi with a purse of his lips, and a gleam of protectiveness shining in his eyes. He had obviously noticed the similarities between Link and this new man who had what appeared to be facial tattoos and held himself like a warrior, but Twilight had no doubt that the small, skinny man would jump into battle if it looked like Wild was in danger. 

Apparently satisfied, he shifted his attention back to Wild.

‘You haven’t been on another adventure have you? And with such a strapping young man?’

Twi blushed slightly and found himself rubbing the back of his hair when the man’s darkly amused grin expanded at his discomfort.

Wild, however, laughed. Apparently well used to the man’s unusual personality. ‘I have.’ He admitted softly. ‘Twi is one of the men I’ve been travelling with. We’re here for supplies and then we’ll be going back to the others. I do want to take them to see Tarrey Town but we haven’t had a chance to do it yet.’

There was a sudden whinny from the others side of the house and Wild’s ears flicked up, his bright blue eyes lightening. He began to edge away, and Bolson laughed in understanding.

‘Go on, lad.’ He smiled kindly. ‘We can catch up later.’

Without another word, Wild took off around the back of the house, leaving Twilight with the men. He blinked, startled and then began to back away himself, giving them an awkward wave, a blush staining his cheeks that only grew when he finally turned after Wild and heard their amused laughter following him.

‘Wild?’ He called.

‘Up here!’ The Rancher craned his neck, and then chuckled. The younger had already scaled a decent sized apple tree and was pulling fruit off the branches, balancing himself with the toes of his shoes on the branches while he cradled several ripe apples in his arms. Satisfied with his haul, he jumped down, landing with a small grunt of exertion.

His eyes were brighter than normal with excitement and Twilight felt a strange thrill in the pit of his stomach, as if something was about to happen.

Wild made a clicking sound with his tongue, cradling the apples to his chest.

‘Epona!’ He called. ‘Come here girl!’

Twilight froze.

He heard hooves and an excited whinny and turned to look behind him to see Epona, _his_ Epona, trotting towards the Champion.

The Rancher made a noise of delighted disbelief when she reached Wild and tossed her head, catching the younger in the chest and pushing him back a step, he laughed and reached up to rub her ears. Holding out an apple for her as he did and laughing again when she crunched into it with a soft, happy, exhale. 

‘Epona.’ Twi breathed, suddenly sure he was dreaming. He wasn’t prepared for the excited flick of her ears and the gust of air that followed. Before he too was pushed back by her nose as she greeted him.

‘…it _is_ you.’ He whispered, scratching her nose gently the way he knew she liked. ‘ _How_?’

‘What’s going on?’ Wild asked, the confusion obvious in his voice.

Twilight let a gentle smile grace his face and turned towards the scarred young man. ‘I don’t know how this can be, but I also have a horse called Epona.’ He said softly. ‘Ilia looks after her when I’m not at home in Ordon, she’s getting a bit older, but can still hold her own.’

Wild frowned, baffled. Eyes flicking between Twilight and his horse.

‘I don’t know how this has happened, but it seems that Epona has been reborn here, into this time, with you.’ He looked at the horse fondly, staring into her chocolate brown eyes.

‘It is you, isn’t it girl? You remember me?’

Epona tossed her head and gave a low whinny, obviously agreeing.

Wild’s eyes opened wide. ‘T-that… is… so _amazing_!’ breathless he threw his arms around his horse with a delighted laugh and she nickered at him, mouthing at his hair.

‘Happy Birthday, Epona.’ The Champion said, softly stroking the side of her face. He held out another apple which she gratefully accepted.

‘Here.’ He held out several apples to the Rancher, who took them with a smile and began feeding them to the legendary animal.

She gave a puff of happiness and took an apple from Twi with a gentle mouth.

Laughing, the older teen took a bite out of one of the other apples he held, crunching into it in a very similar way to the horse.

He heard Wild laugh softly and reached up to run his hand down Epona’s nose again. He swallowed his bite, feeding the rest of the apple to her.

‘I can’t believe it’s really you.’ He breathed. ‘Are you taking good care of Wild?’

She huffed and pawed at the ground and he laughed. ‘Of course you are, I’m sorry.’

‘Why not take her for a ride?’ Wild suggested with a smile. ‘There are a few really good trails around here and she needs the exercise. I’ll go and get the supplies we need and can meet you back here.’

Twilight looked torn for a moment, he fidgeted. ‘Don’t you want to take her?’

Wild shook his head and patted his horse. ‘I can ride her any time! I come a few times a week just to take her out.’ His eyes turned introspective and a little sad. ‘But she hasn’t seen you for a long, long time.’

With a jolt, Twi realised that was true.

He still had Epona in his Hyrule, and although it had been months since he’d seen her, not since the very beginning of his journey when it was just him, Sky and Hyrule, he knew she was still there and he could still see her when they eventually returned.

But Wild’s time was thousands of years in his future. His eyes glazed with tears for a moment at the thought, Epona had been reborn but she still remembered him, loved him even. For her, it had been a lifetime, maybe even more than one since she'd seen him.

Epona whinnied, and shook her head, ears twitching. She danced a few steps to the side, obviously keen to get moving.

Twilight smiled. How could he say no?

Surprising even himself, the Rancher suddenly leaned forwards and kissed Epona on the nose, then turned and hooked a hand around Wild’s neck, kissing the startled Champion on the forehead.

He swung himself easily up into the saddle and looked down at the embarrassed but pleased looking young man.

‘Thank you Wild. Come on girl.’ He said, sounding much younger as his excitement started to bubble over. ‘Show me what you’ve got!’

With an answering whinny, Epona took off up the hill with so much speed and such little warning she wrenched a whoop of delight from the older teen, his laugh echoing off the stone cliffs around them, her sharp hooves spraying up clods of grass and dirt when they bit into the damp ground.

A nickering whinny followed close behind, obvious that the clever, legendary animal had been trying to surprise her old friend.

Wild stood for a moment, eyes watching as they very quickly rode out of sight a small smile on his face. He knew they would probably not be back for hours, and with a small laugh, hand absently touching the place on his forehead that Twi had kissed him, he headed towards the front of the house to catch up with Bolson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my friend who is very into racehorses, August 1 really is the birthday for horses.
> 
> I know Time has Epona too, but I haven't done anything with Twi really during this challenge. So here he is. 
> 
> I'm... going back to bed for a bit. Haha, peace out!


	11. Recommendation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I love Four so much? 
> 
> Although...maybe the real question is... what's with the people who DON'T adore the little Smithy?

‘ _Argh No!_ ’ Hyrule muttered under his breath, the buckle on his bag, damaged for so long, disintegrating in his hand.

Time, finishing his own packing next to him, tutted sympathetically.

‘It finally broke?’

Hyrule nodded, searching for something else he could use to secure his bag.

Time unclipped his pack again and picked out a spool of twine handing it to the Traveller who unwound a segment and cut it off with his knife, wrapping it around his bag and tying it awkwardly.

They stared at his repaired bag for a moment doubtfully.

‘We should get to a town today.’ Time said finally. ‘We’ll be able to ask around and see if they have anyone who can fix it.’

Hyrule nodded, head tilted to one side, eyes still on his bag.

O o O o O

‘Hmm. If you’re looking for buckles, we do have a blacksmith.’ The villager said slowly, leaning on the pitchfork he’d been using to spread a bale of hay. ‘But. They’re not always open.’ He added thoughtfully.

Warriors frowned. ‘What does that mean?’

The villager shrugged. ‘It’s run by our kingdom’s Master Smith and his grandson. As far as I know, the grandfather is also the official blacksmith of the castle so they travel a lot.’ Another quick shoulder raise before he went back to his task, spreading the hay efficiently and evenly, his sheep watching his progress with interest from their pen on the other side of the yard. ‘So the forge isn’t always open.’

The group exchanged impressed looks.

‘The royal blacksmith?’ Time mumbled. ‘Well, it’s worth a look. With Hyrule carrying so many of our potions, we really can’t risk his bag breaking any further.’

‘Where do we find them?’ Twilight asked.

The villager pointed over his shoulder and through the trees. ‘On the outskirts of town, on the other side of this grove there’s an apple orchard. Once you’re there, just follow the sound of hammers.’

O o O o O

The cottage was neat and small, the bushes out the front a little overgrown and mossy which gave the house a lived-in, cosy feel. The entire left side of the building was attached to a forge with a tiny room at the front that obviously served as a shop. There was a small, worn, sign above the door that had the words ‘Master Smith’ written on it in a confident hand that stood out against the rough grain. A plume of smoke was coming from the chimney in the forge and the ringing of metal on metal echoed against the dark bark of the trees in the apple orchard around them.

Cautiously, the group entered the small shop, ducking slightly to enter the low doorway. It was deserted but very clean. A small open doorway lead through to the forge itself, a wall of oppressive heat coming into the room from the back. Time instantly realised that the smith’s probably kept the shop door open when they were quiet to help with airflow into the forge. To give themselves a breath of fresh air when they could.

‘Hello?’ Warriors called while the others began to mill around the edges of the small shop. Looking at the pieces of farm equipment and tools that were hanging on the walls. They could hear someone out the back, hammering away rhythmically.

After a moment, the Captain craned his head towards the open door to the forge at the back of the small shop.

‘Hello?’ He called again, louder.

The ringing sound of metal on metal stopped and a moment later a short teen, slightly flushed from the heat and his blonde bobbed hair tied up in a short ponytail came out to greet them.

He was dressed in a thick leather apron that was tied around his waist, spotted with scorch marks, wiping his hands on a soft but dirty cloth.

The young man blinked on obvious surprise when he saw the huge group of people in his shop but smiled.

‘Oh! Can I help?’

‘I was hoping you might have a new buckle I could use for my bag?’ Hyrule asked hopefully, placing his worn, leather, bag on the rough, wood-stained bench that obviously served as a counter. He blushed slightly when he realised the string he and Time had used to tie his bacg that morning was already fraying from brushing against him as he walked.

‘Ah...’ The young smith said.

He reached out and pulled at the strap, looking at the tattered edge with slightly pursed lips.

He reached under the counter and brought out a small, wooden ruler, measuring the width of the strap. Nodding to himself, he bit his lip, expression going vague for a moment as he become lost in thought.

The moment stretched a little too long and the others began to shift awkwardly, exchanging uncertain gazes.

Time cleared his throat and the smith blinked, coming back to them with a start.

‘We’ll have to make a new one.’ He said finally. ‘We don’t have any already made in this size. But we already have some molten metal on the forge, so I can do it for you now. It should only take a few minutes.’ He paused, sharp eyes looking over the rest of the bag.

‘I’ll make an extra one because it looks like your other strap is about to go.’

Hyrule looked at his bag, surprised and noticed the hairline crack in the edge of the other buckle.

‘Oh! I didn’t even notice. Thank you!’

The young man nodded, expression a little distant again for a moment before it cleared and he nodded as if in answer to something.

‘You’re welcome to wait here.’

‘Thank you.’ Time smiled. ‘You said ‘we’, a villager told us in town your grandfather also works here and that he’s the blacksmith to the royal family. Is he in?’

Inexplicably the young man blushed slightly.

‘Ah, no… it’s just me today. My grandfather is at the castle. Is there something else you need?’

Time smiled kindly and gestured at Warriors who gave a small wave. ‘My friend needs his sword sharpened. I can understand that as an apprentice you might be uncomfortable dealing with weapons for combat.’

The blacksmith laughed. ‘I can see why you’d think that.’ He gestured self-deprecatingly at his own small frame. ‘But I’m fully-qualified, and am used to swords. I’d be happy to sharpen your blade.’ 

‘Music to my ears!’ Warriors grinned, without further hesitation he pulled his sword and placed it on the bench of the forge. The young man tilted his head to the side and ran a hand down the flat of the blade.

He hummed, evaluating the steel. ‘Well, I can definitely sharpen it, but there’s also some warping, and a couple of small burrs.’ He looked up, curious. ‘Have you been somewhere very cold recently?’

As one the group shivered, thinking of the Snowpeak Mountains they had just left.

‘… yes.’ Wars confirmed simply.

The blacksmith nodded. ‘It looks like the join between the blade and the hilt has suffered which will throw out the balance. I’ll fix that for you as well.’

Without waiting for further acknowledgement, and without another word, he nodded vaguely to himself and picked up the blade. Drifting back into the forge. The group, huddled in the front room, exchanged startled glances as the sound of hammering picked up again.

‘Does he seem a bit…distracted to anyone?’ Legend asked curiously.

‘Yeah...’ Warriors confirmed, hands on his hips. He looked around at the beautifully made horse shoes and nails in small tubs on the bench. ‘But he sure sounds like he knows what he’s doing.’

Legend nodded thoughtfully, eyeing a shovel that was hung on the wall. ‘Can’t argue with that.’

O o O o O

Surprisingly quickly, the smithy entered the shop again, carrying Warriors sword and a small cloth which obviously held Hyrule’s buckles. His eyes were clearer than before, having lost the vague look he’d had when he walked back into the forge and there was no mistaking the sheen of intelligence in them as he smiled.

‘Ok.’ He grinned. ‘Buckles first.’ He held out two perfect buckles, polished to a dull sheen and still slightly warm.

‘I oxidised them a little.’ He said while Hyrule looked them over, mouth slightly ajar. ‘And made them from darker ore so they wouldn’t look out of place on your bag.’ His eyes drifted around the group, taking in their traveller’s clothes. ‘You look like you’re on a journey, you don’t want anything that will stand out too much, or glint in the sun.’

The group grimaced at the thought of hiding in the long grass while trying to ambush an enemy or a meal and having an overly bright buckle give them away.

‘Very well thought through.’ Time agreed.

‘These look great!’ Hyrule exclaimed, having already slipped the first one onto his bag strap.

The smithy nodded his head, and gave a small smile and then turned to Warriors.

‘And sword.’ He announced, placing the sword on the bench and unwrapping the piece of cloth he’d used to keep fingerprints and the oils from his hands from the steel. The Captain picked it up by the hilt with an impressed whistle.

‘Woah, it feels brand new!’ he breathed. ‘You really fixed the balance. I didn’t even realise how far off it was until now.’ He ran a careful eye along the edge. ‘It looks razor sharp, and all of the burrs are gone as well.’ he paused again and leaned forwards, eyes narrowing as he inspected it more closely. ‘You _polished_ it too?’

The smith nodded and grinned at the pleased reaction. ‘It should be sharper than the day you got it.’ He promised. ‘My Grandpa developed a special way of sharpening blades that he uses for the royal military. It balances strength and durability, so it won’t burr as easily but will keep its edge.’

‘Wow.’ Warriors muttered. He ran his eye over the length of his sword once more and then sheathed it smoothly. ‘Thank you. You’re a master of your craft.’

The blacksmith laughed and shook his head, apparently done for the day, he pulled the heavy leather apron over his head and hung it on a hook just inside the door to the forge, revealing a multicoloured tunic.

‘My Grandpa is a Master.’ He said humbly, pulling his hair from his ponytail, smoothing his short, choppy bob with his hands for a few moments before slipping a green headband on to keep it out of his eyes. ‘I still have a lot to learn.’

He noticed that Hyrule had replaced both buckles on his bag and leaned forwards with his soft cloth to give them one final inspection.

‘Well, that’s one thing ticked off the list.’ Twilight said in satisfaction. ‘Now for the other one.’ He turned back to the smithy, curious.

‘I don’t suppose you know where we can find someone named Link, do you?’

The Smith looked up from the buckles, surprised.

‘Umm… yes? _I’m_ Link.’

Everyone turned to look at the young man, silence falling throughout the forge. Time and Twilight exchanged impressed, raised eyebrows.

‘Well, _fuck_ , Smithy.’ Legend muttered, obviously pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed there was no Wild in this chapter? I know these are all separate one-shots, but I'm thinking of doing a Chain meets Wild chapter later in the month.
> 
> Also, I headcanon that when the chain picked up Four he was used to being on his own a lot, and wasn't really used to talking to the colours in a subtle way. So he seemed easily distracted for the first little while until he got used to being around people again? 
> 
> I haven't played his games, but let a girl have her theories?


	12. Scissors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> flufffff

‘Ok.’ Warriors announced with the tone of someone who is _done_ and not welcoming of debate. He had one hand on his hips and the other brandishing a sharp looking pair of scissors.

‘Hyrule. I can’t _take_ it anymore.’

The Traveller, his mouth full of the carrot cake Wild was handing around looked up, cheeks bulging and eyes wide and startled. He made a noise of confused astonishment at the back of his throat.

‘What the fuck? Are you _threatening_ him?’ Legend growled, bewildered by the serious look on the Captain’s face.

Warriors laughed. ‘No, I’m just going to give him a haircut. But, this _is_ happening.’ His expression darkened, turned serious, Hyrule’s eyes widened even further and he swallowed his bite of cake with difficulty.

Wild bit his lip to hide his laugh and Twilight snorted.

Legend didn’t seem sure if he was supposed to be feeling protective or amused and shot a doubtful look at the bewildered and self-conscious Hyrule. The Veteran noticing for the first time how far out from his face the Hero of Hyrule’s hair was sitting, frizzy from the humidity in the air.

The front had grown down past his eyes and to his cheeks, where he’d been subconsciously pushing it to one side. His sideburns were nearly down to his shoulders.

Now that it had been pointed out, it was obvious how much his hair had grown.

‘You… might have a point actually.’ Sky conceded for all of them, shrugging apologetically at the Traveller.

‘Wonderful.’ Warriors said drily, he reached out his hand and beckoned imperiously with one long-finger. ‘Come here, Roolie.’

With a small laugh, Hyrule stood and walked forwards, plonking himself on the tree stump Warriors was standing in front of without complaint.

Warriors unravelled a long piece of cloth, wrapping it with surprising efficiency around Hyrule’s shoulders to protect his tunic from the loose hair.

The Captain began pulling strands with his fingers, measuring to see how long they were, pursing his lips slightly as he estimated how much to cut off.

A small breeze wafted through the clearing, bringing the smell of wildflowers and a bright blue butterfly which Hyrule followed with his eyes.

Finally, Warriors began to carefully start snipping away at the long strands..

‘How do you know how to do this?’ Hyrule asked quietly, once the others had grown bored of watching and went back to what they were doing.

‘I just… kind of learned?’ Warriors said. ‘I started with my own in the barracks but when we were on the longer campaigns and missions there wasn’t anyone else would could do it. Some of my men started to have trouble seeing through the visors in their helmets when the front of their hair started to grow down too far, which is dangerous. So, I started doing theirs as well.'

He kept snipping as he talked, working his way methodically around Hyrule’s crown. Brushing the strands aside gently to see where they fell and ruffling the sides to remove the pieces he’d cut off.

He quickly fell into a rhythm.

Snipping away, brushing his hand though the strands and occasionally tugging gently on the pieces to make sure the length was the same on both sides. Hyrule sat quietly, apparently enjoying the experience and content not to speak, his eyes alternating between watching the others and the breeze ruffle the leaves of the trees around them.

‘Ok.’ Warriors breathed slowly, stepping back to observe the hair critically from a distance. ‘Time for the front, close your eyes.’

Without hesitation, Hyrule tipped his head back, eyes closed, a small smile on his face and expression trusting.

Warriors felt a soft smile cross his own face, and a rush of affection for the young traveller.

Carefully, slowly, he bent down and began to snip away at the long bangs, trimming them until they were just below his eyebrows, using his fingers to protect the soft skin of Hyrule’s face from the sharp blades of the scissors.

Another minute and he was done. He allowed his critical eyes to run over the Traveller’s hair for a moment, pleased with the results before he smiled, standing back up to his full height. Unable to help himself, he ruffled Hyrule’s unruly strands fondly once more.

‘Done.’ He laughed, removing the piece of cloth with a flourish, pieces of dark blonde hair flying off as he shook it.

Hyrule’s eyes sprang open, already bright and reached up to feel for himself. His long-fingered hands instantly noticing how much neater his hair felt. He shook his head, making a pleased sound when the hair didn’t fall over his eyes. He hadn’t even realised how often he must have been unconsciously pushing it aside.

‘Looks great!’ Sky grinned, looking up from the sewing repair he was making to his under tunic.

Hyrule grinned as the others all nodded, adding their approval.

‘Here.’ Legend held out the mirror shield. ‘Have a look.’

Curious, Hyrule reached for the mirror.

‘Woah.’ Hyrule muttered turning his face slightly so he could see the sides. 

‘Thanks Wars. You were right, this is much better.’

Warriors grinned, twirling his scissors around his finger.

‘You might want to go and wash it.’ He advised. ‘The little pieces of hair can prickle for days if they work their way into your tunic.’

With another glance in the mirror and a grin. Hyrule went to get his soap, heading towards the river. Wild and Wind following behind to join him, their own soap held in their hands, chatting easily.

‘Not _bad_ , Captain.’ Legend said musingly, head tilted to the side as he watched the Traveller leave. He nodded thoughtfully and turned to leave, but was halted by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see an intense looking Warriors glaring down at him.

‘Not so fast, Vet. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the rat’s nest you keep under your cap. You’re next.’

Legend groaned, half-exasperated, half-amused and entirely annoyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sobs* I bit into a cracker late last year and cracked my tooth all the way down to the nerve. So an unpleasantly large chunk of yesterday was spent getting the last parts of a root canal done. 
> 
> I'm on weird drugs that might be too strong for me...? (I'm the main character in my own sick fic loll.)
> 
> I am L O O P Y kids. So probably won't reply to comments for a bit for fear of saying something weird. 
> 
> This chapter is short. Tomorrow's probably will be as well. But, I'm still going to try and post something every day, because this fic is a time capsule? (But if you don't hear from me tomorrow, that's why.) 
> 
> Lala <3


	13. Ancient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a different style for you all today. <3 Another no-dialogue one, but mostly because it seemed to work better that way, rather than me doing it on purpose?
> 
> Also. Is it possible for a fic be written almost entirely with sentence fragments? Apparently.

From where Time is sitting, only half listening, it seems that Wild and Legend are comparing items in their inventories. He's already heard amused laughter, exclamations of disbelief and teasing as the two Heroes bring out item after item to show the other. What started as genuine interest, has quickly devolved into a competition. 

They catch his attention when Legend whistles and leans forward at an item Wild has retrieved from his slate. It's the first time the Veteran has been so open in his surprise and Time's attention focusses slightly. He half-turns his head in their direction.

The Veteran’s hands reach out to touch the item is that Wild is holding. But unexpectedly, he pauses, his expression hardens for a moment.

More slowly, cautious in a way that makes Time sit up a little, Legend holds out a slim hand, hovering it near what the Champion is clutching but being careful not to make contact.

Time can’t see what it is, it’s blocked by Wild’s arms and body.

Legend frowns and his hand glints pinky-purple. A spell. He’s doing magic?

Time frowns too and leans closer, listening now.

The Veteran is telling Wild to be careful, he thinks the mask has the residue of a curse on it. The Champion looks startled and turns slightly.

Time freezes. He forgets how to breathe.

Wild is holding a mask.

Bug eyes. Horns. Colourful. 

The moon is falling.

Termina.

Navi.

_Dong, dong._

The deep, eerie ringing of a clock tower echoes in his mind.

The constant stress, tension, exhaustion of living three days on repeat with _so much to do_.

He’s young and tired. All alone except for a sarcastic fairy and wants to cry.

He doesn’t want to save the world again. He’s already done it once and no one even remembers.

He wants to go home. He wants Navi.

_Dong, dong._

A scruffy, white dog yips and runs towards him, growling deep in its throat. He realises he’s forgotten to remove the Deku scrub mask, if he doesn’t take it off, the dog is going to attack him.

Again.

_Dong, dong._

He steels himself. He knows he’s going to have to cut it fine to do this part right. This time he’ll have to wait to play the song until the very last moment of the very last day, right before the moon hits the ground. He needs to deliver Kafei’s letter to his mother.

The ground feels strange - rumbling under his feet, the light feels strange - orange and red, the clouds are swirling. The moon is so close now, it's face seared into his nightmares. 

He still wants to cry but isn’t sure he remembers how.

_Dong, dong._

He does what he can, panicky and breathless, but he can’t save the injured zora.

Instead, he watches him die.

When the zora’s spirit turns into a mask, Time takes it numbly, adds it to the pile he’s already collected. He feels dirty. Soiled. Already he knows that he will never be the same after this adventure.

He spends all day on the beach, the sun burning his skin. Staring into the waves before he forces himself to move. That night he builds a memorial, propping the zora's guitar against the rough wood of the grave marker. 

_Dong, dong._

Tatyl, who started out so blunt and rude is begging him to take care of himself, to rest for a cycle. She says no one will even _know._

_Dong, dong._

He feels helpless, there isn’t enough time to finish the Snowhead temple and he’s going to have to go back, return to the beginning and do all of this again.

He knows the clock is ticking down. He can feel the ground under his feet trembling as the moon’s gravity pulls on it. Tatyl is yelling, panicked, but he sinks to his knees in the centre of the room he’s just cleared.

Exhausted.

Would it really be so bad if he just let the time run out and the moon hit?

_Dong, dong._

When he comes back to himself he’s breathing heavily. His sword is in his hands. The sharp tip is dug into the ground. Vertical.

There’s a stunned silence.

He feels a cautious hand on his shoulder and raises his head to see Legend looking at him. The others are watching from a distance. Concerned. Worried. Trying not to stare.

The edges of the Veteran’s face are blurred, and Time sucks in another breath watching the lines sharpen again. He tries three times to release his sword before his tense fingers finally let go.

He steps back, Legend supporting him when he stumbles slightly. His hair flops over his eye, he knows that he must be very pale. He can't tear his eyes from the sword, embedded in the ground. 

No. Not the ground, he realises. The mask. He’s wrenched the mask from Wild and stabbed it, right through the centre.

Reality feels like it's warping strangely. He feels that if he plays a song on his ocarina he can go back and replay the last few minutes of his life. Again and again.

He glances over at the Champion.

Wild is on the ground, wide-eyed, stunned and concerned.

He must have wrenched the mask much harder than he’d thought, knocking the young man over in his desperate haste to get the foul mask away from him.

Hyrule is squatting next to the young man, obviously checking that Wild is alright. The long-haired archer gives a vague nod, eyes never leaving Time’s. Hyrule nods back, unseen, and then with a cautious glimpse at Time, moves slowly back to where he’d been sitting with Warriors.

Time’s eyes drift back down to the mask. The yellow eyes are still staring at him. He thinks he sees one move, the pupil twitching to focus on him.

With a burst of energy, he strides back and yanks the sword from the ground. Picks up the mask and flings it into the camp fire.

He watches, unblinking, _angry_ , as it begins to blacken on the edges.

It takes too long to burst into flames before suddenly, violently, it catches. The flames are suddenly _far_ hotter than they should be.

The others exclaim in surprise, Wind, sitting closest, covers his face with his hands at the burst of heat.

He wipes a hand down his face. Realises how exhausted he is.

He stumbles back and sits on the log they’d rolled up to the campfire, burying his face in his hands.

Legend sits next to him, Wild on his other side. The others resume their conversations from earlier, only the slight strain in their tone revealing their worry and surprise.

They know if he can, Time will tell them about it later. They understand.

The three on the log don’t speak. They watch the mask burn for a long time. Until nothing is left.

He’ll have to apologise to Wild later. He owes him an explanation.

But for now, all he can feel is a sense of relief to know that the mask is finally gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In BoTW DLC, the Ancient Mask task gets you Majora's Mask. So I went with that rather than the Ancient armour/arrows I first thought of. <3
> 
> I probably had Majora's Mask for like a year before I really got into it. I've never been a fan of 'timed' challenges in games, so thought it just wasn't for me. But once I got into it, it blew me out of the water. It's so different to the other games... I still get that music stuck in my head from Clock Town and Stone Tower Temple.


	14. Fruit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! Can you believe we're halfway through this beast of a challenge??
> 
> HALFWAY-HALFWAY-HALFWAY-HALFWA~!

‘Hey… where’s Sky?’ Wild asked suddenly, he was holding his slate in his hands, obviously about to show the Skyloftian something, but had only just realised his friend wasn’t walking with the rest of the group.

There was a moment of confusion as everyone looked around for the missing hero.

‘Shit.’ Legend muttered, running a weary hand down his face. ‘ _Please_ tell me he hasn’t wandered into the bushes to have a nap or something.’

‘Oh!’ Wind began, pointing back down the trail, half-hidden by a tree. ‘There! It looks like he’s….’ He squinted, blue eyes narrowing in the bright light, he tilted his head to the side slightly, unsure.

‘Is he…talking to a merchant?’

Wild frowned and leaned to the side to follow the direction of the Sailor’s pointing finger, he held up a hand to shade his eyes trying to make out his friend through the mid-morning glare.

As Wind said, there was Sky, bending over his pack, the other person did look like a travelling merchant, but the Champion didn’t immediately recognise them. He took a cautious step forwards and then gulped, eyes suddenly widening when he realised what exactly the older hero was putting in his bag.

‘ _Bananas_!’ He gasped in horror.

Without explanation, he took off running towards his friend leaving the rest of the group, baffled, in his dust.

‘Don’t worry about us, Wild! We’ll just wait here!’ Legend called after him obnoxiously. He turned back to the others with a frustrated huff and crossed his arms over his chest.

‘Oh well.’ Four said fatalistically, already moving off the path to sit in the shade of a tree, waterskin in hand. ‘I could use a break anyway.’

O o O o O

Wild skidded to a stop only meters from Sky and the merchant, breathing hard. His dusty boots sent small rocks skittering along the path.

He reached for his sword, hand grasping the hilt and expression cold and fierce, primed and ready to fight.

He paused when he realised that his friend and the Yiga were both smiling. Sky had his head down, shoving bananas into his pack, obviously having just purchased as many as he could carry from the Yiga in disguise.

The Yiga’s eyes flicked to Wild, distracted by his sudden appearance and narrowed his eyes for a moment in recognition.

Wild tensed, ready to draw his weapon, but the Yiga hesitated and Wild blinked, surprised and suddenly unsure.

After a tense stand-off which Sky, still shoving fruit in his bag, was blissfully unaware of, the assassin turned his attention back to the Skyloftian, an easy smile returning.

The young man glanced up and smiled when he noticed Wild standing close by, but continued talking.

‘I _love_ bananas!’ Sky was babbling sincerely. He rotated one of the bunches of fruit to the side so he could fit the last bunch he was holding in to his overflowing pack.

He broke off three bananas with a crisp snap, and closed the buckle of his bag with difficulty. ‘They’re my absolute _favourite_ even though I only tried my first one a few weeks ago!’ The Yiga gasped as if physically struck and Sky nodded, understanding his horrified disbelief perfectly.

‘I know! But I’m from… far away, and we don’t have them where I come from.’

He offered one banana to the Yiga who took it with a grin, threw another one to Wild who caught it on instinct, looking as if his world was tilting on its axis, and then began to peel his own.

Sky took a huge bite, humming happily and chomping away as he tried to put his thoughts into words.

‘I know the others say you can eat apples and wildberries and all, but I just don’t … _trust_ them as much you know?’ He asked thickly through a mouthful of fruit while the Yiga nodded, paying rapt attention, obviously in complete agreement.

The Skyloftian took another bite and continued. ‘It’s just…they’re _red_ , which I always thought was Hylia’s way of showing us food is dangerous. My friend, Wild,’

He paused to gesture at Wild and stopped for a moment, finally distracted by the haunted, confused look on the Champion’s face, before shaking his head dismissively and turning back to the matter at hand.

‘Wild’s an amazing cook, and apples and berries _are_ really delicious when he uses them. But I just don’t feel right eating them raw. It feels so much safer to eat them when they’ve been stewing for some reason.’

He shrugged one shoulder and the Yiga made a small face, apparently disagreeing that apples or wildberries had any redeeming qualities at all.

The assassin finally swallowed his own, enormous, bite with difficulty and then spoke in a hushed tone as if he were sharing a great secret.

‘I agree completely, bananas are the obvious choice but so many people don’t appreciate them. They take them for _granted_!’ He stroked the half-eaten banana he was holding, eyes fond while Sky gasped. A scandalised hand actually coming up to cover his heart.

Wild twitched.

‘Besides clearly being the superior _tasting_ fruit, they fit perfectly in your hand and they come in their own wrapping so your hands don’t get messy.’

The Yiga gasped suddenly, one hand flying up to point at his new friend as a thought violently occurred to him.

His sudden movement made Wild jump and half-unsheathe his blade with a whisper of metal on metal, but Sky simply grinned, his eyes twinkling.

‘Have you ever had _cooked_ bananas?!’

The Skyloftian gave a slight moan, nodding vigorously. ‘I only tried them for the first time a few days ago but it’s already my new favourite dessert. I love how the outside goes all crispy and sticky with honey, but the inside is gooey and warm.’

He gestured again in Wild’s direction without looking at him and the Champion found himself flinching slightly, he felt like he was losing his grip on reality.

‘Wild made something called ice cream to go with it and it was the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.'

His voice lowered, turned reverent. 'Smooth and crispy, hot and cold and sweet and creamy.’ He hummed in his chest at the memory and Wild felt himself blush slightly at the praise, making a mental note to treat his friend again as soon as he could.

Once he figured out What. The. Hell. Was. Going. _On_.

The Yiga closed his eyes at the thought as if he could taste it by sheer will alone and shoved the last of his banana into his mouth.

Chomping away, he reached into his bag, smirking in amusement at how Wild’s eyes snapped towards him, intense and cold, watching every movement carefully, hand never leaving the hilt of his weapon or letting his stance relax.

‘Here!’ The Yiga in disguise handed Sky another bunch of bananas.

‘On the house.’ He winked as the young man gasped his thanks then turned to leave. Pausing only to give the baffled Wild a cheeky little salute, and his new friend a final, friendly, wave over his shoulder.

‘Bye, Sky!’

‘Bye, Shoda!’ Sky waved back cheerfully. ‘Thanks for the bananas!’

He turned twinkling eyes back to Wild, shoving the last of the banana he was eating into his mouth.

He finally noticed Wild’s tense stance and stupefied expression.

He frowned, still chewing, cheeks bulging. The Champion’s expression remined the Skyloftian strongly of someone who had just been punched very hard in the face.

‘…what’s wrong?’

‘…Sky…’ Wild breathed, finally relaxing enough to release the blade of his sword. He shook his hand slightly trying to get the circulation back in the offending limb which was cramping slightly from being tense for so long.

He watched the Yiga casually saunter away, the banana merchant not even looking back.

‘I need to ask you something. As a friend…’ his gaze drifted back to Sky who was eyeing him in concern at the serious tone.

The Skyloftian nodded, expression now open and earnest, encouraging him to ask his question. 

Wild finally peeled his own banana and took an angry bite. ‘What the _fuck_?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me up until now. 
> 
> It's a shame this is the prompt for the halfway point, because I don't really like how it turned out. I tried three different scenarios for this prompt before just running out of time and rolling with this idea. 
> 
> I love Sky. I saw a webcomic or something of him taming all of the wild beasts in Hyrule, so I'm adding Yiga to the list... 
> 
> *shrugs* 
> 
> C'est la vie? 
> 
> Thank you all so much! <3
> 
> Edit: Here's the [webcomic mentioned above](https://heavenly96.tumblr.com/post/633794693422104578) Thanks SilverDragonMS for linking me to the tumblr!  
> 


	15. Shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit late but this chapter fought me to the bitter, twisted, end.
> 
> Pretty words don't wanna come out good today. *sad computer game noise*
> 
> Also, please take my snow descriptions with a grain of salt. Where I live, if it drops below 20C/68F everyone panics so this isn't something I know much about. I kept trying to use the word 'sloshed' for them moving through snow, which just didn't sound right? LOL.

Hylia, always benevolent, dumped them deep in the Hebra mountains in the middle of a white-out. The freezing wind blew straight through their light tunics and metal armour, leaving them gasping and scrambling for the warmer gear in their packs.

‘Nng, fuck!’ Legend gasped, rifling through his bag with fingers that were already numb and frozen, nothing between his bare legs and the freezing snow.

‘Does anyone know where we are?’ Twilight yelled over the howling wind.

The group looked around them, searching for a landmark through the opaque white of the swirling snow. There was a dip in the wind and Warriors pointed, blue eyes squinted almost closed against the cutting wind.

‘There!’ He yelled. ‘There’s a hole in the side of that mountain!’

Wild looked up from where he had been swiping through his slate, several small bottles already in his hands, a sense of relief flowing through him at the words.

If they were where he thought they were...

He frowned, squinting through the swirling snow, hair whipping around him. The wind changed direction for a moment, tugging at their clothes and they all managed one, brief, glance at the mountain Warriors had seen. There were several gasps of shock.

‘We’re in my Hyrule.’ He confirmed, struggling to speak over the wind, wading with difficulty through the snow to hand a phial to each of them.

‘Everyone drink one of these! We need to hurry! The only shelter near here is Selmie’s spot, but it’s only warm enough right by the fire, without protective armour we'll freeze, but we _can_ go to the Shada Naw shrine, we’ll be safe there!’

‘Cub, are you sure we can all enter the shrines?!’ Time’s deep voice cut through the wind, but Wild couldn’t see more than a dark silhouette of the older man through the snow flurries and whipping wind.

Wild nodded. He wrenched his eyelashes apart, the tips freezing together.

‘Yes, but we have to get there fast.’ He yelled. He downed his potion and began to slosh forwards. ‘The potions don’t last forever and I don’t have any more. It’s not far from here, but we _need_ to hurry.’

Twilight swept Wind into his arms and Warriors picked up Four, both of the smaller Heroes for once not protesting being carried in the face of their situation. While up to mid-calf on the others, the snow was nearly up to their thighs. They knew that, without help, they would never make it to the shrine before the potion wore off.

‘Come on!’ Wild yelled again, leaning forwards into the wind, the rest falling into line behind him, staying no more than an arm’s length away from the person in front.

The trail was hard-going, every step landing them in deep snow requiring strength and stamina to wrench it out enough to move forwards.

Gradually, the potion began to wear off, the biting cold increasing. Sapping the strength from their muscles. Their lungs seared with every breath, the frozen air making their throats and chests sting. No one spoke, too focused on moving.

‘There!’ Wind called, pointing over Twi’s shoulder.

Surprisingly close to them, hidden by the thick snow and lashing wind stood the shrine. It’s cool blue light guiding them like a beacon in the white of the snow.

Wild gave a sigh of relief that was lost in the wind and changed their direction just slightly, moving by sight now, rather than using the slate to guide them. He led them to the platform with difficulty.

‘Everyone get on.’ He instructed, hair whipping around his shoulders, the ends were frozen, creating small scratches that he couldn’t yet feel when the sharp ice hit the exposed skin of his face.

He stood guard for a moment, watching the others struggle against the wind, squeezing together to all fit on the narrow platform. He wedged himself on too, his back flush against Sky’s chest, hemmed in by Time and Hyrule. He leaned around them to touch the slate gently to the control panel.

There was a soft whirring sound and then several sharp clicks as the gears inside the lift mechanism began to catch. And then, with a small jolt that made several of the boys stumble, their legs weak from trudging through the snow and exhausted from the cold, the platform began to descend into the shrine.

The group watched, equal parts relieved and fascinated as the swirling white of the snowstorm gradually faded out of sight, the lift lowering them into the safety of the shrine. The temperature rising noticeably as they descended.

The sudden ambient warmth and still silence of the shrine’s interior, after the chaos of outside, was jarring. It was almost too quiet.

A strange, mechanical humming, slightly too low for their ears to register as sound, created a sensation of pressure on their eardrums and chests, setting their teeth on edge and making them feel off balance as they stood clustered, shivering, in the entryway.

‘Ok.’ Wild mumbled, his voice slightly hoarse from yelling over the cold wind made several of them jump. ‘Come on, we’ll be alright now, but we’ve got to get warm.’

He moved with purpose down the ramp, into the larger room, flicking through his slate for a moment and adding several clusters of wood and a flint into a large pile, a hard strike of his sword later and a warm bonfire was burning.

Silent and warm inside the shrine, Wild’s primitive method of heat seemed out of place compared to the slick interior of the shrine.

The others came to sit with him, sitting as close as they could by the fire, taking a moment to breathe now that they were out of the wind and snow unable to resist looking around themselves in curious awe, despite their freezing state and dripping clothes.

The room was much larger than they had thought it would be from the surface.

Dug into the ground and windowless there was no way to track the passage of time outside.

There was a large cage hosting a strange, technical looking crater – it was obvious that the small ball with Sheikah script twisting around its circumference needed to be placed in the hole in the very centre.

Several fans, blowing strong wind and a metal block were also immediately obvious. The shrine was unlike anything any of the others have seen before.

‘What… is this?’ Sky asked quietly as they looked around. ‘What did you have to do here?’

Wild tilted his head to the side, contemplative eyes drifting around the shrine’s interior.

‘The shrines are puzzles.’ He informed them. ‘Created by the monks to train the Hylian Champion, each puzzle was supposed to teach me something. A skill, or logic. They're a test.’ He shrugged. ‘When I cleared the shrine the monk would give me a spirit orb, when I had four of them I could exchange them for a heart container or more stamina.’

They nodded, eyes drifting around the random assortment of items Wild had had to work with.

‘How many Shrines are there?’ Hyrule asked.

Wild hesitated. ‘Over a hundred, less than a hundred and fifty.’ He guessed.

‘Wow…’ Wind breathed, impressed, unconsciously he shifted closer to the champion, right next to the fire.

Wild could feel him trembling and threw another bundle of wood on the flames.

‘No one else can come in so we don’t need to set a watch. If the blizzard dies down we should be able to get to Rito Village tomorrow, but for now, we have shelter, fire and food.’

He smiled around at all of them, obviously relieved and with a few swipes of his slate and he was dressed in his snowquill tunic.

‘Does anyone need dry clothes?’

O o O o O

‘Wild…’ Warriors asked, his hesitant tone finally breaking the silence, he was staring into his cup of warm milk, perplexed. ‘What happened to that mountain we saw? The hole was almost perfectly round… it can’t be a natural rock formation, but what could possibly happen to cause that much destruction?’

It was obvious he had been thinking about the damaged peak for a while.

Wild shrugged. ‘We’re not completely sure. Apparently, it happened during the last Calamity 10,000 years ago. The divine beast Vah Medoh was firing at Ganon but something knocked it off course and it...’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘…missed.’

A hushed silence fell over the group as the gravity of the situation hit them, broken only by the crackling of the logs and the pressure in their ears from the shrine.

They had all experienced their own trials, but they had been involved personally, from the very front line. Seeing the evidence of one of those battles etched forever in the solid rock of the snowy mountain was a reminder of just how much was at stake.

Four frowned when he realised the deeper meaning of what Wild had said. He cleared his throat.

‘Did you say, 10,000 years ago?’

Wild nodded, distant eyes on the cooking pot, stirring something mindlessly.

‘We have no record of who it was, but we know there’s 10,000 years between me and the last Hero.’ He blinked back to reality and looked around at them with a small grin. ‘It’s much further back that you all start, but we still have documents of you and your journeys.’

An overwhelmed silence fell over the group as the implications of his words sank in.

Intellectually, they had known that Wild came after them in the timeline and they knew that it was thousands of years between all of them.

They had even seen two of the divine beasts. Vah Medoh, perched atop Rito Village and Vah Naboris standing vigil in the Gerudo desert.

Wild's era was so different to their own, it could be easy to see it as another world entirely and forget it was their Hyrule, separated only by time.

To them, Sheikah technology was impossible to understand, so advanced that it was incomprehensible and seemed more like magic, Yet to Wild, they were relics of an ancient past, just as incomprehensible, just as far removed from them as the others but on the other side of history.

Four bit his lip, looking sideways at Sky, not sure of the impact of what he was about to say, but feeling that it needed to be said.

‘I never put it together before,’ he began softly. ‘I knew you were ahead of us in the timeline, but I didn’t realise _how_ far ahead you are.’ He licked his lips and braced himself.

‘It makes sense that the Master Sword of your time is low on energy and sometimes needs to recharge.’

Several heads flew to look at him and he looked down, wiggling his sock covered feet in front of the fire, trying to regain feeling in his toes, his boots sitting neatly beside him.

‘Magic isn’t infinite.’ He continued quietly, easily audible in the silence of the shrine.

‘It would be impossible for that amount of time to not have _some_ impact on the sword. The metal has been exposed to corrosives, air…’ he waved a hand and shook his head slightly. ‘The magic would have gradually leeched out over the millennia. _Nothing_ lasts forever.’

He paused for a moment, letting that sink in while he thought, biting his lip.

‘It explains why you needed to go through the Master Sword trials when no-one else had to.’ He risked a look at Wild who was staring at him in hopeful disbelief.

‘It’s nothing to do with you…’ he waved his hand again trying to find the right words. ‘Being _less_ somehow. It’s just… physics…chemistry. There’s nothing you could do. The blade running out of power, needing to recharge. It’s… _inevitable_ .’

His sharp eyes noticed the disbelief and self-doubt at his words hidden deep within Wild’s eyes and he felt a twinge of compassion for the other teen.

‘It’s not your fault.’ He said again, leaning forwards from his waist, towards the Champion, pinning him with his eyes, suddenly _needing_ Wild to believe him. ‘The blade knows its limitations and is simply doing what it can to overcome them.’

Wild nodded slowly, he looked relieved, overwhelmed.

Sky sighed and stood stiffly, his body still trembling slightly from the cold. He walked hesitantly towards Wild, lowering himself to sit next to the Champion.

Hyrule, seeing the look on his face, shifted over slightly to give him space.

‘I’m sorry.’ He said softly, leaning to one side to gently nudge Wild with his shoulder. ‘When Fi broke, I was… _scared_ … I’d never seen it happen before.’ He gave a whole-body shudder. ‘I never want to see it again.’ He admitted, looking down at his hands, curled into fists in his lap

‘But I was wrong to take it out on you. I’ve _seen_ how strong she is, there’s no way you should have been able to break her. If I was thinking more clearly, I would have realised that. What Four said makes sense.’

Wild nodded slowly eyes glazed and deep in thought. He looked hopeful but not entirely convinced that he was free of blame.

Even though he didn’t remember much of his childhood, he knew from interacting with the other Hylians in his era that the other heroes were literally figures of folklore from the ancient past. 

They were mysterious, fierce warriors, blessed by the Goddess and wielding an unstoppable blade. 

A blade that broke in his hands. _Only_ in his hands.

Seeing some of the self-doubt in his expression, Sky made a noise of despair and put his hands on Wild’s shoulders, forcing the younger’s gaze away from the fire and towards him.

‘Wild.’ He said softly, eyes earnest and sincere. ‘I’m so sorry that I made it worse because I didn’t understand.'

He pulled him into a gentle hug.

With a low, shuddering exhalation of relief, Wild squeezed his eyes shut and returned the gesture.

He hadn’t realised how much he’d needed to hear those words from the Hero of the Skies.

Sky was so slow to anger, so quick to forgive, but they hadn't discussed the implications of the Master Sword breaking again until now.

Wild hadn't been aware of how much guilt he still carried from that day, the memory of Sky's furious, terrified, face as he yelled at him was burned into his memory.

He relaxed further into the hug, squeezing his eyes shut and wrapping his arms more tightly around his predecessor, Sky laughed softly. 

The Chosen Hero had a closer bond with the blade than any of them. If Sky really believed that the Master Sword breaking in his hands was not his fault…

…maybe Wild could believe it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the headcanon of the Master Sword running out of energy and needing to be 'recharged' by the trials from Rewritethestars5218, if you haven't read their fic [Learning to let go](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25518697/chapters/61913182), I highly recommend it!
> 
> Also, I went to Selmie's spot to see if it was warm in the cabin and it isn't. The only warm spot is right by the fire, if you're not wearing snowquill armour you freeze. 
> 
> Selmie is hardcore, living there. 
> 
> AND, according to the book Creating a Champion, the hole in Hebra mountain did happen during the battle with Ganon 10,000 years before Wild. I don't remember where I saw it, or if it's official, but I remember reading that it was Vah Medoh that did the damage...
> 
> Lala <3


	16. Competition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this is just...so dumb...

‘This is uncivilised.’ Time mumbled thickly, half-heartedly tucking another nut into his cheek.

‘’at’s the whole ‘oint!’ Wild managed, already unable to speak properly.

Time paused, the next kernel already in his hand, small bulges visible in his cheeks as a thought suddenly occurred to him. He pointed a firm finger around at the others, fixing them with a stern look.

‘No one tells Malon a'out this. _No one_.’

Wind laughed but was silenced with a glare. He made a zipping motion over his mouth, promising not to mention the competition to Time’s wife.

The rest of the group nodded and with a sigh, Time relaxed his gaze, satisfied at their answer. He rolled his shoulders.

‘Alrigh'.’ He mumbled thickly, still mostly able to control his mouth, his gaze drifted around the fire, at all of the boys holding handfuls of chickaloo nuts, cheeks bulging with the four they’d each already popped into their mouths.

He grinned unexpectedly and chuckled darkly. ‘I’m going to wi'e the floor with you 'oys.’

The others smirked back with varying degrees of success.

‘’ood luck ol’ ‘an.’ Legend gurgled back.

‘Nut 'ive!’ Wild, the instigator of the challenge, shoved a nut into his mouth, the others following his example.

‘Six!’ again the group pushed a chickaloo nut into their mouths.

Wind made a slurping noise but seemed unable to speak, eyes fiery and competitive.

Wild held up a finger, unable to articulate the next number but the others got the hint, obediently lodging an extra kernel into their bulging mouths.

Another nut and Twilight made a sound of discomfort, half-choking and Sky laughed, the noise slightly muffled.

Twi held up a hand to his throat eyes wide and coughed again, holding his other hand over his mouth to hold the nuts in.

'Uh ohhh.' Warriors looked delighted.

Everyone turned gleaming eyes on the Rancher, waiting for the inevitable. 

With a wheeze and another cough Twilight spat the chickaloo nuts out of his mouth into his hands. He winced, rubbing his jaw and smacked his lips a few times.

‘Well, I guess I’m out.’ He laughed, apparently not minding in the least that he'd come last. He looked down, counting the nuts in his hand. ‘Eight!’ he announced.

‘’athetic!’ Legend announced, the superior tone somehow still audible despite the chickaloo kernels in his mouth. A thin trail of drool escaped from his mouth and, red faced, he wiped at it with the back of his wrist. 

Sky laughed again, louder. 

‘Oh well.’ Twilight grinned, he reached down and grabbed his mug of milk, abandoned when the competition started, and took a swig.

He waved his free hand towards them. ‘Carry on.’ He invited.

A competitive silence filled the clearing again and the group managed another two nuts before both Warriors and Four spat out their nuts. Twilight cackled and sipped at his drink, looking like he was having the time of his life.

‘Well damn. Still, ten isn’t too bad!’ Warriors shrugged while Four nodded in agreement, rubbing his cheeks. The Captain threw the nuts carelessly over his shoulder and into the forest behind them then held up a hand to hi-five.

Four grimaced at the damp hand and deliberately averted his eyes, leaving Warriors hanging.

After a moment of trying to silently peer-pressure the Smithy into giving in, the soldier quietly lowered his hand and wiped it on the front of his tunic.

Only one nut later, Wind reached his limit, spitting out the nuts onto the ground with a desperate, laughing, rasp. His mouthful of chickaloo nuts scattered around the clearing with surprising velocity and forced Warriors pull his boots back with a cry of alarm. For a moment the sailor simply breathed, hand on his chest and eyes closed in relief.

‘I thought I was going to _die_.’ He announced with a half-laugh. He looked up at the players, admiring. ‘How can any of you breathe?’

Sky took a deep breath in through his nose to demonstrate and Wind looked at him with startled comprehension.

'...oh.' The pirate muttered, blinking dumbly.

Wind took a moment to look around at the others and then gave a low laugh. He nudged Warriors and pointed subtly at Legend, whispering something in his ear and passing him a red rupee which the solider accepted with a grin, nodding.

The Veteran glared at the pair, his sharp eyes obviously catching their sly bet. Slowly, _slowly_ making sure he had their full attention he raised his left hand, rings sparkling in the firelight and carefully, deliberately, extended the middle finger. The effect ruined slightly by his bright red face, bulging cheeks and lowered eyebrows .

Warriors laughed and Wind put a hand to his chest with an exaggerated gasp as if mortally offended by the gesture.

But, despite his bravado, only a few nuts later the Vet was forced to admit defeat, spitting the mouthful out with a heaving gasp that sounded slightly panicked. Surprisingly, Wild was right behind him, unable to fit any more in. Both dropping out at 14.

The Veteran shrugged, face already resuming its normal, snarky expression as Wild grinned back at him helplessly.

‘I think I'm most surprised the _Old man_ is still in.’ Legend admitted with a back-handed compliment that was true to form.

Time glared, somehow even more intimidating than normal with his jaw wedged open and several nuts visible inside.

Apparently running purely on spite, Time managed another several kernels before throwing in the towel. Shoulders shaking and almost purple, he held up one long finger and then stood smoothly, waking briskly to the edge of the clearing where he stuck his head in a bush and then gave a great heaving cough, gasping for breath for a moment after.

Wind laughed. ‘How many did you get?’

‘Eighteen.’ Time confirmed, looking down at the mess of nuts. Subtly, he began to toe loose dirt over them, hiding them from view.

‘Only two left.’ Wild observed, amusement clear. He leaned forwards, elbows on his knees, clearly invested in the outcome.

‘Who will it be... Roolie or Sky?’

Hyrule raised his hand and pointed at his own chest. His lips quirked up in a smile and a nut popped out of his mouth at the change in pressure.

He made a small sound of surprised distress and leaned forward to pick it up off the forest floor. He gave the nut a critical look before dusting off most of the clinging dirt and leaves with a shrug and shoving it back in.

Several people grimaced.

Only a few tense moments later, and after trying several different angles, Hyrule’s mouth simply couldn’t stretch any further to accommodate another kernel. He gave a low, long sigh of defeat through his nose and then spat out the nuts with relief.

‘You win!’ He grinned at Sky, lips and cheeks bright red from being stretched for so long. ‘I couldn’t fit it in!’

Wild went to stand. ‘Well, I guess that means Sky's the winne-‘

‘Wai’’ Sky gurgled, catching everyone’s attention.

Without breaking eye contact, Sky took another nut, held it up for the group to observe and then stuffed it into his mouth.

Several of the group gasped.

With a determined glint, he held up another.

Silence filled the clearing.

‘Noo…’ Four whispered in disbelief.

They watched, unable to tear their eyes away as he squeezed it into his mouth.

‘You’re like… a goddess-damned _squirrel_ , hoarding food for the winter…’ Legend breathed, his voice awed.

Sky laughed as well as he could through his mouthful of nuts and carefully poked the final one in. Eyes bright and jaw stuck open, he thrust his hands into the air, claiming his victory and the others cheered.

‘’wen’y-‘wo!’ He laughed. With difficulty he spat the chickaloo nuts out, having to manually remove a few before he had enough movement in his cheeks to expel the rest.

‘Ouch!’ He laughed, rubbing at his sore cheeks. ‘Twenty-two!’ he confirmed again, more clearly.

‘Alright.’ Wild laughed, finally getting back on track to _why_ the group had decided to have the competition to begin with.

‘Sky wins so he gets to decide what we’re having for dinner!’

Almost before the Champion had finished speaking, Sky threw his his head back, still riding the high of his victory.

‘Pumpkin stew!’ He shouted up to the clouds.

The others groaned good-naturedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the shared brain cell was nowhere to be seen <3
> 
> I find it impossible to believe that these idiots haven't done something like this at some point.
> 
> (Can we all agree that the collective noun for group of idiots is now a 'Link'?)


	17. Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2am! Time to... post a story, apparently.
> 
> I just realised I wrote for the wrong prompt, I'll do 'solution' for tomorrow's upload.

Sky yelped faintly in surprise when the portal released them slightly above the ground. With a gasp he twisted mid-air and managed to land somewhat gracefully on his feet, his knees slamming into the ground. One hand came down to steady him, the other on the hilt of the Master Sword. Although rare, it wasn't unheard of for the portals to drop them in or near monster camps. He hissed in annoyance when a sharp rock, jutting from the lush, green, grass, caught the palm of his hand, digging in to make a shallow cut.

‘Urgh.’ He breathed, shaking his hair out of his eyes and looking around. He could hear the others mumbling behind him, climbing to their feet.

Legend was swearing, flushed bright red with rage, clawing his way out of the spiky bush he had been deposited in.

Sky felt a slight pang in his chest when he saw they were back on the surface, mountains and grassy plains stretching into the distance.

The group had spent the last two weeks in Skyloft and Sky would be lying if he said he wasn’t already missing Zelda, Groose and Crimson. He looked up into the clouds, even though he knew he wouldn’t see anything and sighed quietly, resigned. He wondered how long it would be until he was home again.

‘This is my Hyrule.’ Twilight announced, stepping up next to Sky on the small rise they’d been dropped on.

The Rancher pointed towards a long but gentle incline that led into a small woodland.

‘Ordon Village is just over this hill and then a few hours walk through the forest.’

A relieved sigh rippled throughout the group and Twi, obviously excited to be home began to lead the way up the slope. A few steps later he turned, walking backwards up the hill and grinned at them.

‘Come on! We’ll be there before dinner!’ He fixed an eye on Sky. ‘And you do _not_ want to miss Uli’s pumpkin soup.’ 

He winked slightly and Sky smiled back, appreciative.

They all knew the brief pang of loneliness that came from changing from their homelands to someone else’s. The Skyloftian grinned slightly at Twilight’s transparent attempt at making him feel a little better and began to follow him up the hill, the rest of the group following behind. Forming natural groups as they began to chat. Finally, starting the uphill trudge to Ordon village.

After a minute Wind put a hand to his chest with a grimace. He breathed in deeply through his mouth and the gave a slight cough.

Wild swiped the back of his wrist across his forehead and then looked at it in astonishment. Surprised to see that he was already sweating.

‘This hill must be much steeper than it looked.’ Four commented with a baffled frown.

Twilight shook his head and looked around them. ‘It’s not normally like this, I don’t know what’s going on. Usually, it only takes about 15 minutes to get to the top.’ He paused, eyes flicking around at the rest of the group and finally noticing that they were all breathing much harder than normal.

‘Is anyone else… having trouble breathing?’ He asked. ‘Like… sucking the air in?’

‘I thought that was just me!’ Hyrule confirmed, breathing harder than normal. ‘What _is_ this?’

‘It’s normal after being in Skyloft.’ Sky said serenely, plodding along steadily. His distracted eyes locked on the clouds above.

‘The air is thinner up there, lighter, the air on the surface is thicker so it's harder to breathe. I think you all got used to it, but you’ll adapt back to the surface air very quickly.’

There was a moment of _horrified_ silence.

‘Sky…’ Four began eyes wide. ‘Is this… how you _always_ feel?’

The Skyloftian nodded, unconcerned, eyes never leaving the sky.

‘I was born on Skyloft, I’m not used to the surface air. It gets a little easier the longer we’re down here, but never as easy as Skyloft.’

The silence that greeted his comment, was complete.

It was obvious sometimes that Sky struggled with his breathing.

Occasionally, when they were in an era where the pollen hung especially thick in the air, his eyes would become red and itchy and his breath would come in wheezing gasps that had the others concerned. More than once Wild had pressed his Sheikah mask on him, the special cloth over his mouth helping to filter out the pollen and ease his breathing.

He was always the last to crest a hill, trudging along at his own pace at the back of the group. Laughing and out of breath at their good-natured teasing when he finally joined them.

To function feeling like this, to be able to run at all, to _fight,_ especially with the skill and ferocity Sky showed with the Master Sword left all of them feeling both awed and uncomfortable that they hadn’t understood what their friend was dealing with.

They’d all poked gentle fun at his lack of stamina, baffled and confused how such an accomplished swordsman could apparently struggle for breath after only a few minutes of fighting or sparring.

Now they understood breathing on the surface after even briefly being in Skyloft felt like trying to suck air in through a straw. Their respect for the Chosen Hero only grew.

Their own breath felt thick and forced, small dark spots danced already on the edges of their vision, their limbs and body feeling heavy and uncooperative. They wanted nothing but to slow their pace, have a break. Sit and _breathe_.

The fatigue was _already_ pulling at them.

The Skyloftian’s fondness for his bedroll suddenly made sense. He wasn’t just sleepy or lazy or air-headed, he was simply _exhausted_ his body needing more rest than the others to recover from the trauma of trying to breathe air it wasn’t designed to metabolise.

His first trip to the surface, already charged with emotion because Sun was missing and in danger must have been horrifying for the young man.

How long would it have taken him to realise that there wasn’t something wrong with him physically, but that it was the air itself that was different?

A glance at him, plodding along, eyes still on the clouds above, apparently lost in a world of his own, had them exchanging glances. He was used to this… he hadn’t even realised the proverbial bomb-shell his words had caused, he had simply told them what was wrong and returned to his thoughts, apparently thinking nothing more on the topic.

‘Sky…’ Warriors began, breathless. ‘Holy _shit_.’

The Skyloftian looked over at him baffled, his eyes flicking rapidly over at the group who were all looking at him with respect. He blushed and rubbed the back of his hair.

‘It’s nothing.’ He mumbled.

‘It explains so much.’ Hyrule mumbled. ‘Why you’re always so _tired_!’

Sky shrugged and smiled, eyes drifting of their own accord back up to the clouds above them.

‘It’s fine.’ He smiled. ‘Sure, it’s easier to breathe at home and I get tired here. But…’ he paused, shrugging a shoulder. ‘It’s like resistance training that they used to make us do at the academy. Think of how much stronger I’m going to be because of this experience.’

There was a long moment of silence.

Legend sighed, sounding aggravated, he already had dark circles under his eyes and was sweating slightly.

‘Hylia puts you through this, expects you to fight where you literally can’t _breathe_ , and you still see it as an opportunity?!’ He swiped a hand down his face, angry on Sky’s behalf. ‘What in Din’s name is wrong with you?’

Sky smiled, kind and tranquil. His breath, as usual, sounded slightly laboured.

‘If I hadn’t been given this _opportunity_ , I never would have met any of you. It's a pretty fair trade off.’

A beat of silence. Several of the boys were blushing, avoiding eye contact.

‘Wh-what the fuck are we meant to say to that, you sappy bastard?!’ Legend blustered.

Sky laughed, his eyes drifting back up to look at the clouds.

‘Nothing at all.’ He breathed, smiling peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise that this should really go the other way, e.g. the others getting to Skyloft and being like...
> 
> Oh my, air so thin. *faints*
> 
> But it's a headcanon of the fandom that Sky's stamina is the worst of the chain, so I'm going with thick air filled with pollens?
> 
> <3


	18. Solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be yesterday's chapter but I got the prompts mixed up, sorry about that! 
> 
> This is also my last attempt at a 'humour chapter' for the challenge... honestly, once I thought of the idea for this one it was stuck and I couldn't think of anything else

Warriors tripped slightly, his usually sharp eyes missing the the tree-root that was half-buried by leaf litter and long grass. He grimaced, knowing what was about to follow.

‘Ha! I saw that, you fucking moron!’ Legend crowed obnoxiously. ‘Watch your damn feet!’

Laughing, the Vet headed up a small outcrop, closer to the edge of the broad river they were camping near, bending to pick up a promising looking branch that had been dropped by a nearby apple tree.

Warriors sighed. 

Legend had been in fine form all day, razor sharp and sarcastic, missing nothing and merciless in his teasing. Nothing had been off-limits and the Veteran had danced precariously along the knife-edge between amusing and savage since they'd woken up. Even the ever patient Time had had enough, sending him off to pick up firewood with Wild and Warriors while the others set up camp.

‘Wild?’ The Captain began, his tone even and slightly curious. His dark blue eyes were slightly squinted, a calculating expression fixed squarely on Legend, who was bending over to pick up another stick, still cackling slightly.

‘Hmm?’

‘How deep would you say that river is?’

Wild gave a considering hum and looked out at the slow-moving river without much interest, the pebbles at the bottom were clearly visible through the pristine water.

He shrugged carelessly, eyes back on the ground.

‘Maybe a couple of meters?’ He guessed, distracted as he pushed aside some dead leaves in his hunt for another promising stick.

‘Perfect.’

Warriors bent slowly to place his branches on the ground and then unwound his scarf, folding it carefully and placing it on top of the neat pile of wood. Wild watched him, his confusion growing when the Captain straightened, mischief glittering in his eyes.

He winked at Wild and then suddenly, without warning, began to _sprint_ towards the unaware Legend.

Hearing rapid footsteps, Legend straightened, the smirk still firmly in place until he saw the fiercely grinning Warriors charging right at him.

‘ _What the fu_ -ACK!’

His mouth opened in a shout that was cut off as Warriors ploughed into him with a laugh, crash-tackling him clear off the small cliff and into the river.

They hit the water with a solid _thwack_ , the sticks the Veteran had collected flying from his hands, some landing on the rocky outcrop and others following the pair into the river.

Wild choked on a stunned laugh, throwing his sticks next to Wars’ and running forwards to look over the edge of the small cliff his friends had just flown off.

It seemed that Warriors not held back, and had hit the smaller man hard enough to knock both of them clear into the middle of the deepest part of the river.

They spluttered to the surface, Warriors laughing so hard he almost inhaled a mouthful of water and Legend spitting expletives like an angry cat.

‘Yahaha! You found me!’

‘ _Oh!_ ’

Without hesitation, Wild jumped in after them, swimming out to the korok that had just appeared, reaching out to take the seed.

Legend spluttered, hair all over his face, his expression a strange combination of stunned, amused and angry.

He grabbed at his hat that was slowly drifting past him down the river, the trapped air inside the durable material making an obscene blubbing sound when he finally caught it.

He fixed Warriors with a frightening glare.

‘ _What the fuck, Captain!?_ ’

Warriors simply grinned still laughing slightly and looking very pleased with himself. Despite his underlayer of heavy chain mail, he treaded water easily, hair slicked back off his face in an infuriatingly flattering way.

‘And where _the fuck_ did that korok come from?’ Legend ended his tirade with an almost-shriek, pointing a dripping finger at the small spirit.

Warriors began to laugh harder. The absurdity of the situation finally hitting home.

Wild gestured around at the circle of plants they were in. ‘Lily-pad circle!’ He explained with a laugh. ‘Koroks hide in them sometimes!’

Legend noticed with growing annoyance that somehow Wild looked exactly the same wet as he did dry.

The Veteran blew his pink sideburn out of his face, irritated when it simply raised a couple of centimetres and then landed back over his mouth and nose with a wet slap.

The skirt of his tunic floated up to the surface and, blushing, he pushed it back down with one hand, his face almost disappearing under the water again as he did.

He glared, bobbing and looking uncharacteristically uncoordinated and ruffled in the water. The Captain was still grinning, satisfied.

A darkly amused look flashed across Legend’s face, too fast for the others to notice.

Subtly, he began to edge towards the soldier.

Wild was still talking, looking around them curiously. ‘I thought I’d already found all of the koroks in this area!’

Warriors gave a small salute, winking roguishly. ‘Glad to be of service.’

Without warning, Legend lurched out of the water with a yell and placed both hands on the top of Warriors’ head, shoving him down and dunking him into the river, the soldier disappearing under the water with a surprised flailing of his arms and a gurgle.

‘Haha! How do you like _that_ you bastard?!’ Legend crowed, holding Warriors under for a second longer before releasing him with a cutting, victorious, laugh.

Warriors stared at him for a moment, looking slightly ruffled with his normally impeccable blonde hair streaming cold river water over startled, bright blue eyes. After a beat of astonished silence at the Veteran's childish retaliation, a dark grin crossed his face and Legend froze when he realised what he had just started.

‘Wars, no! We’re even! Don’t you _fucking_ da-‘ He was cut off when Warriors again tackled him, the two disappearing under the surface for a moment, the rippling waves smacking a laughing Wild in the face.

The two resurfaced, splashing at each other in a flurry of arm movements. Legend splashing water as fast as he could, breathless expletives leaving him at an impressive speed, brow lowered. Completely determined to win the war of petty retaliation against the soldier.

Warriors was laughing hands up in front of his face to shield him from the splashes. He grabbed the tip of Legend’s cap which was again drifting past them in the slow moving stream and began to spin it over his head with a yell, an arc of water sprayed from the drenched material while Legend growled in annoyance.

'Give it back!' He dove forwards trying to grab it from the taller man, but mistimed, the tapered tip hitting him across the face with a wet slap so hard his head rocked back.

Warriors froze and Wild began subtly edging his way back to the safety of the riverbank.

A dark smile crossed Legend’s face and Warriors looked over at Wild gulping when he realised the disappearing Champion would not provide any help at all.

‘Oh… you’re going to regret that.’ The Veteran promised with a grin that was all sharp, white teeth.

He slipped under the water with barely a ripple, never breaking eye contact with the soldier who paled.

‘Ha, ha, very funny. Where are you?’ Warriors managed loudly his tone growing more tense. His eyes moved constantly, sweeping the water around him for any signs of the Veteran.

‘Come on, Legen- GAH!’ He was cut off when something grabbed his legs, pulling them out from under him and dunking him in the water, arms flying up and trying to grab hold of something solid. 

When he resurfaced, Legend was sitting on his shoulders, cackling maniacally and ruffling up his perfect hair. Warriors breeched backwards with a fearsome cry, dunking both of them again.

Wild sat on the bank of the river, watching in disbelief as the two Legendary Heroes continued to fight? Play? The Champion wasn’t entirely sure.

After one especially vigorous splash reached the korok the tiny spirit drifted closer to Wild on it's spinning leaf. The two exchanged glances for a moment and Wild snorted through his nose. Until now, he hadn’t even known that koroks _could_ look confused. He held out his hands. 

'Come on.' He encouraged. 'It's safer to watch from here.'

The korok floated over to join him, landing on the bank and plodding over to sit by him. The pair watching as the mock battle raged, neither hero willing to concede victory to the other. The sun began to disappear below the hills and Wild shivered slightly, suddenly realising he was still in his wet clothes. He reached for the slate.

Finally, exhausted and still with no clear winner, the pair declared a truce and drifted back to the bank, dripping and huffing for breath.

Legend simply lay, limp and seaweed-like where he'd washed up on the sandy bank of the river. His hair all over his face and his wet tunic riding up his legs a little _too_ high, while Warriors managed to crawl forward on his hands and knees to flop on the grass next to Wild, his body shaking with residual laughter.

The Champion watched them wordlessly now wearing a casual Hylian tunic, Snowquill pants and a superior, amused, expression.

Warm and completely dry.

Legend scowled, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering slightly as he finally stood, the skirt of his tunic flapping uncomfortably around his legs.

He fixed a glare on Warriors, watching as the soldier wrung river water from the front of his green tunic, his clothes sticking to his body like a second skin.

‘You’re a real prick, you know that?’

Warriors strode forwards and slapped the Legend’s wet cap back onto his head, laughing when fresh, cold, water began to run down the sides of the Veteran’s face. Legend scowled, but was unable to completely suppress a shiver and Warriors turned to Wild.

‘You have anything else dry in your slate?’ He asked, casually. ‘This guy is practically _made_ of salt, he’ll probably melt if he doesn’t get dry soon.’

‘Shut the fuck up, Wars, or I'm chucking you back in the river.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow's chapter might be a bit odd... it was another one I couldn't decide on an idea for, so I'm just going to go completely off the grid with it and hope it works out. 
> 
> *shrugs* 
> 
> This challenge is about trying new things, no? :) 
> 
> I've already discovered I like writing Whump as long as there's a happy ending, so there'll be a new series coming once all this is done. I'll probably work on it in tandem with Wild Adventures. I also want to look into my headcanon about each of the boys being disasters at one very specific thing. 
> 
> Lala <3


	19. Majestic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is two chapters in one day! 
> 
> But I just got called up for a REALLY important job interview tomorrow and I haven't had a real interview in months so I have a lot of prep to do... I just hope the nerves don't get to me...! 
> 
> So I don't miss a day, I'm going to rush through tomorrow's chapter now. It's... Monday night, which means I probably won't post again until Wed morning. 
> 
> Wish me luck you guys! 
> 
> Now, onto the story! … a bit of context is needed before this chapter.
> 
> There’s a sensory condition called synaesthesia. It’s not a disorder, because nothing is wrong, but if you’ve never heard of it synesthetes see the world in a way very different from most of us. 
> 
> Two of their senses are combined, so they can see colours and textures in music or taste words (e.g. to them the word college might taste like sausages, a certain name might takes like lemons or earwax) etc. 
> 
> I’ll add a few more notes at the end about this, but let’s just say that, in this fic, Time has a version of it because I wanted to imagine what it would be like?

Soft lute music drifted through the clearing as Legend plucked away at the strings. Almost a week before, when they’d first arrived in his era, he’d promised Ravio that he’d help the Lorulean compose a song for Hilda’s birthday. 

The purple bunny had promised to give him _significant_ life time discounts on all the potions in his shops if the hero agreed to help, and Legend, being Legend, had assumed it would be an afternoon of work and then he’d reap his rewards.

So far, the Veteran had spent every spare moment for a week almost obsessed with getting the song finished before they changed worlds again. He knew that he might be able to send the music home with the postman who seemed just as capable of jumping dimensions as they were, but he didn’t want to take that chance.

It wasn’t just for the potion discounts, although he’d be lying if he said that wasn’t originally why he’d agreed, now he wanted to finish it because he’d _promised_ Ravio he would. The excited, relieved expression on his friend’s face was seared on his mind and he didn’t want to disappoint him.

He frowned, trying the song once more, no one noticing Time wince slightly when orange clashed with pink in his mind at the notes the veteran played.

Legend lowered the lute into his lap rubbing his forehead with both hands. A frustrated groan of defeat leaving from deep in his chest. It was so close, but something just wasn’t quite _right_.

‘Everything alright?’ Time rumbled finally, his deep tone somewhere between fond and amused.

Legend’s groan was his only answer.

‘Have you tried…’ Time began softly, looking up from tending the fire, eyes on the frustrated young man. ‘Changing key? To flats? Also, you need to make the sound a little…’ he waved his hand for a moment through the air, trying to think of the word. ‘…rounder, try plucking the fourth note in every bar a bit harder.’

Legend raised a questioning eyebrow, mouth slightly open as if to ask a question, but desperate enough to try anything, he simply nodded slowly and brought the lute up again.

He played the first few bars, this time changing to flats and plucking the strings harder as Time had suggested. The eldest nodded to himself when rather than clashing oranges and pinks, the tone changed the flashes of light he saw to pink and navy blue, adding a touch of regal beauty.

Legend’s eyebrows shot up.

‘Woah!’ He exclaimed. He looked up, dark eyelashes fluttering and framing stunned, bright blue eyes. ‘… _Time! What the fuck?_ ’

The expression of honest incredulity on his usually snarky face was so unusual, Time couldn’t help but chuckle.

Legend breathed slowly out of his nose, lips pursed.

‘I’m… going to start again…’

Time nodded and settled back. Closing his eyes this time.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, a little self-conscious now. Legend picked up the lute, his long, clever fingers plucking the strings.

Swirls and shapes of colour began to melt and drift through Time’s mind as Legend began to play, lowering the whole piece to flats.

Time watched as yellows and pinks mixed fluidly with royal purple and turquoise greens.

A bright, fresh, lavender drifted through Time’s mind and he nodded with a slight smile.

As the speed increased and the tune grew more complicated, the swirls turned into coloured shapes. Triangles and circles filled Time’s mind. Painting a picture with the music.

A blue circle met a thin, delicate swirl of red, encasing it for a moment as the plucked strings continued to vibrate. A quick flourish of golden notes made the two fading shapes explode in little flashes of glittering light.

‘Beautiful.’ Time mumbled.

Legend paused at his words, but Time shook his head, waving for him to continue.

The Veteran’s fingers slowed again, bringing the music back to the bright shades of yellow, deep royal-purple weaving around the colours with flashes of fuchsia peppering the top.

Time nodded in approval and Legend, his own eyes closed now, lost in the music, moved into the final section of the piece.

The sweet-melancholy of navy blue began drifting through Time’s mind and he nodded with a slight smile when the Vet changed to gently plucking the strings, allowing more space between notes. Letting each flash of colour fade completely before the next one began. Like fireworks.

There was a moment of deep silence. Even the forest was quiet.

‘Well _damn_.’ Warriors’ impressed voice cut through the silence like a hot knife.

Time and Legend turned to see they had caught the attention of the others.

Legend lowered his lute and blushed with a scowl, embarrassed.

‘Is that the piece you promised Ravio?’ Hyrule asked, eyes huge and bright.

Legend nodded wordlessly, cheeks growing steadily more flushed. 

Time stood with a soft, understanding laugh. Clapping the younger on the shoulder with his hand and reclaiming his place at the fire. He accepted a mug of warm milk from Wild as he settled next to Four, who greeted him with a warm smile, the Smithy's own mug, already half-empty, held loosely in his hand.

‘That was fucking _majestic_.’ Wind muttered.

Legend frowned, suddenly realising just how easily Time had found the issues with the piece. ‘Time… how did you just _know_ what needed to be fixed?’

Time gave a small smile and shook his head.

He had only spoken to Malon about this strange ability he had to see colours in sounds.

Honestly, he hadn’t even know it was unusual until he was already in his 20’s and had commented to Malon while they were feeding the cows on the ranch that sometimes when she sang she hit the most beautiful shade of green he had ever seen.

Curious, she had asked what he’d meant which had started a deeply confusing conversation for both of them.

Since then, he hadn’t told anyone of his ability, understanding that he saw the world in a way that most people didn’t.

Realising that the Vet was still waiting for an answer, he shrugged, humble. ‘I guess I just have an ear for it.’ He chuckled elusively.

Legend nodded, searching eyes on the older man, his fingers plucked mindlessly at the strings, creating little bursts of colour in Time’s mind., obviously seeing through his easy lie but choosing not to prod further.

The elder smiled.

‘Play it again?’ He requested, sliding to the ground and resting his back against the log, holding his mug of milk on his knee and relishing in the warm comfort.

Legend simply inclined his head, expression unusually neutral. With his mind on home, the Vet allowed his eyes to close again and began to pluck once more at the strings, filling the clearing with colour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise this one won't be everyone's cup of tea but I'm ok with that. <3 There are some EXTREMELY fluffy chapters coming up that are going to MELT. YOUR. HEARTS. 
> 
> There’s a really cool interactive video on youtube you can check out that shows you what it’s like having the condition. Don’t forget to turn the screen at 2:54 to look at the city, you can do it by dragging the screen with your mouse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obrBAysVef0 
> 
> The idea of synaesthesia-especially being able to see colours and patterns in music sounds so beautiful. But I was reading around about it and one girl said that she has it and hates it because her best friend has a poo coloured voice and every time they talk she has to hear it. 
> 
> So I guess the grass is always greener?
> 
> See you guys on Wednesday!
> 
> Lala <3


	20. Language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience yesterday! Unfortunately, the interview was a total waste of makeup (it was over zoom, but I still had to look like an attempt had been made, you know?) 
> 
> I hear on Friday if I go through to another round of interviews, but I'm not holding my breath. 
> 
> *shrugs* it's good practice at least!

It was the wet season in the Faron region of Wild’s Hyrule.

The rain was impossibly heavy. The drops, huge and tepid, were almost painful when they struck bare skin, hissing in the undergrowth as they speared through the leaves of the canopy.

The weather had been thick and humid, noticeably hotter than normal, the sun biting into their skin and through their clothes. There had been a gradual gathering of dark clouds in the distance and the group had celebrated weakly, thinking that the rain would bring welcome relief. But instead, the violence of the rain had taken them by surprise, the thick, low-hanging clouds simply bursting open, drenching them in seconds and reducing their visibility to practically zero.

The group shouted in surprise, eyes narrowed to slits as they tried to see. So much water was falling so fast it was almost deafening, leaving the group of heroes without two of their senses in an area swarming with electric lizalfos.

When the ground began to flood, unable to soak up the water that was falling quickly, Wild had rather reluctantly brought them to a cave to wait the worst of the weather out.

For two days the group had been stuck, languishing, as torrential rain fell around them. Leaves and branches falling from trees, and streams of water cutting through the undergrowth, leaving channels in the dirt where there had been solid earth before.

The Champion, used to travelling in any weather, was draped over a rock in the entrance of the cave, watching the pounding rain hit the dirt and tropical ferns outside their sanctuary his expression blank.

He hadn’t moved, or said a word, in well over an hour, eyes glazed and lost in thought. One hand idly drawing patterns on the rock he was leaning on.

Behind him, the other members of the group were handling the impromptu break with a little more success, it was too hot for a real fire, but they had brought out several lamps, placing them in the middle of their cave, the rest of the group gathered in a loose circle around them casually eating toasted chickaloo nuts and chatting quietly, a soft laugh occasionally echoing throughout the cave.

The conversation was on battle strategies and Four had checked out, using a whetstone to sharpen their swords, his eyes glazed and distant, hands moving automatically and mind a million miles away.

Legend stood with a satisfied stretch, finally having had a chance to finish the book he’d been reading for the last few weeks. He crouched in front of his bag and began to rummage through it for a book he hadn’t read yet.

He pulled out one at random and then made a small noise of confusion, turning it over in his hands.

‘Hey, Four?’ He called quietly.

Four’s glazed eyes came to look in his direction, and he waited patiently as the Smithy blinked slowly.

They had noticed that sometimes the Hero of Four Swords tended to get lost in his own head and could sometimes have difficulty wading his way back out. The moment Four’s eyes cleared, and he was sure the young man was paying attention, Legend waved the book.

‘I think an extra book slipped into my pack last time we were in my Hyrule. Is this yours?’

Four’s eyes drifted to the book Legend was holding up, eyes glinting purple for a moment. He shook his head. ‘No, I think that’s in Sheikah. That’s not one I know.’ He admitted.

Legend huffed, frustrated and annoyed that he had been carrying such a hefty book and no one could even read it.

‘Well, fuck.’ He said, helplessly. ‘What am I supposed to do with it?’

‘You could try a translation spell?’ Hyrule suggested, the short conversation catching the attention of the others.

Legend bit his lip, considering, turning the book over in his hands. ‘No,’ he disagreed finally. ‘It would take too much effort on a book this size.’

He looked at it for a long moment, torn, before shrugging. ‘Well, I’m sure as hell not going to keep carrying it around.’

‘You could just leave it here.’ Warriors suggested with a shrug of his shoulder.

Legend levelled a glare at the Captain who had the gall to laugh.

‘Oh right. You’re a massive hoarder.’

Momentarily deciding to take the high road and not dignify Wars’ jibe with an answer, Legend looked over to the entrance of the cave where the Champion had not been paying any attention at all to what they were saying.

He stood and walked over the few steps to the long-haired teen, catching his attention by crouching and holding out the book.

‘Hey Wild. Can you shove this in your slate until we get back to my Hyrule?’

Wordlessly, Wild nodded and reached up to take the heavy object. Legend inclined his head in thanks, already moving back to his spot in the corner.

Wild turned the book over, ready to store it in his slate, pausing when he noticed the cover.

Intrigued, he flicked it open and moments later he was engrossed, the relentless rain finally forgotten.

A particularly loud guffaw of laughter from Wind at something Sky said made Four jump, bringing him back into the present with a jolt. He stretched his hands over his head languidly, feeling surprisingly refreshed. His colours had been having an enjoyable game of ‘Would you rather?’ and he had apparently not moved in some time.

He looked around at his friends, a small smile on his face, soaking in the calm.

Days where they were able to simply relax were rare and although two days of being trapped in a cave was no one’s idea of a great time, looking around at how much lighter everyone seemed now that they were well-rested for a change, Four couldn’t deny they’d needed the break.

His eyes drifted to the front of the cave where Wild sat and his eyes widened and then narrowed in thought. He cleared his throat.

‘Hey, Legend?’ He asked in a casual tone that shifted the Veteran’s attention almost immediately. He gestured wordlessly towards Wild.

Legend turned to follow his gaze and then frowned in utter bewilderment.

Wild was sitting with his back now against the rock, nose buried in the book he had asked him to store in the slate.

The book that was written in Sheikah.

He exchanged stunned glances with Four and leaned forwards curiously.

‘Wild? … _Wild_?’

In a move that looked remarkably difficult, Wild tore his attention away from the book in front of him and towards Legend.

‘Hmmm?’ He breathed.

Legend looked a little uncertain. Surely this was just a prank that Wild was playing. A prank because the Champion was bored?

‘Can you… _read_ that?’

What he wasn’t expecting was for Wild to give a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

Four and Legend looked at each other astonished and Four put down his whetstone.

‘Wait… _can_ you…?’

Wild’s confused gaze turned to the Hero of Four Swords. ‘Most of what I know, I learned from reading.’ He murmured. ‘I thought you knew that.’

‘We’re not saying that you can’t read Hylian.’ Four stated after a minute. ‘But that book… it’s in Sheikah.’ He gestured between himself and the Vet. ‘We can’t read it, that’s why Legend asked you to hold it for him until he got back, it was put in his bag by mistake.’

Wild paused, dawning realisation crossing his face. He looked down at the book in his hands and then up, eyes flicking between Legend and Four. Momentarily in the direction of the others who were watching the conversation, bemused.

He swallowed.

‘You didn’t realise, did you?’ Four asked slowly. ‘That it wasn’t in Hylian?’

Wild blushed, the tips of his fingers fiddling with the hard-cover edge of the book in his lap, flapping it open and closed slightly.

‘No, it’s not that…I just… I forgot that you didn’t...’ he breathed cryptically before pausing and starting again.

‘Well…’ he tried to clarify, growing more flustered when the words wouldn’t come out. ‘I didn’t _realise_.’

‘What is it, Cub?’ Time asked softly.

Wild licked his lips, uncertain. There was a long pause.

‘None of you have seen the slate up close.’ He finally said simply.

He fumbled with it for a moment and then turned it around to the compendium screen of a silent princess.

‘Oh…’ Four breathed, leaning forwards. ‘ _Oh_.’ He rubbed a hand down his face, expression startled.

It was written in Sheikah.

‘What does this mean?’ Legend asked, his expression intent, eyes sharp.

Wild shook his head, distant eyes drifting back down to the screen in his hands.

‘I talked to Impa about it last time I saw her. She told me I had to speak all of the kingdom’s languages when I was appointed to the Royal guard. Because sometimes I would be sent… as an envoy for Zelda.’

‘ _All_ of them?’ Four’s eyes were practically glowing violet in the light of the cave, expression oddly calculating. ‘

Wild nodded. 'Impa told me I had tutors.' 

'You actually had to learn Sheikah to work as a knight?’ The Smithy was baffled

Slowly, Wild shook his head, he looked a little haunted, confused to be sharing something about himself even he didn’t really understand.

‘No…I had to learn _Hylian_.’ He whispered. ‘Impa thinks … Sheikah is… that it might be… my first language, that’s why I keep it as the main language on the slate.’ He brushed the tips of his fingers gently against the screen.

‘I can read Hylian, but much more slowly. It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to anyone about it, I forgot that I do it.’

The silence that followed his comment was deafening, and Wild froze, looking up to realise all eyes were on him.

Legend and Four were looking at each other as if all their Yuletide’s had come at once.

‘Wow, that’s amazing, Cub! What are the other languages… that you had to learn?’ Twilight asked.

Wild brightened up slightly at their apparent enthusiasm. ‘Rito, Gerudo, Zora and Goron.’

‘Oh!’ Warriors grinned. ‘I know a saying in Rito! It was something that was going around at the academy when I was training. Apparently, it means, fly strong and aim straight, we used to say it all the time! They were even going to embroider it on our uniforms at one point, as an academy motto’

He cleared his throat and said the unfamiliar phrase.

Wild, inexplicably blushed to the roots of his hair and gasped out a sudden, startled, laugh.

‘ _Wars…!_ ’ He chided.

‘That is _not_ what you just said.’ He muttered. ‘I… would… _never_ say that again if I was you.’ He shuddered visibly. ‘ _Especially_ around any Rito.’

Rather than looking embarrassed, Warriors looked intrigued, but Wild’s eyes flicked to Time and back again shaking his head in a way that clearly said he would inform the soldier of the true meaning later.

‘Well, well… this _is_ interesting.’ Four purred in a distinctly un-Four like way, tapping his chin and taking them all by surprise. He grinned at Legend whose own eyes were shining, the others looking baffled behind him.

‘All this time you’ve spoken _six_ languages and you’ve been hiding right under our noses? I'm sorry, but that won't do.’ He grabbed his pack and removed a notebook and pencil, standing smoothly and walking to join Wild at the front of the cave.

Four handed the notebook to the baffled Wild, the Champion taking it on instinct and then holding it as if he didn’t know what it’s purpose was. He swallowed audibly when the Smithy leaned forwards, pinning Wild with a grin, Legend’s smirking face right next to him.

‘Can you start by writing down the alphabet for us?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how, but I've gotten my prompt list a little mixed up for the last week. So I might not be posting in order for the last week of the challenge. 
> 
> Sorry! 
> 
> I've seen the headcanon of Wild being part Sheikah around and decided to use it as a convenient plot device. 
> 
> I know six languages is a bit of a stretch, but I kind of feel like each of the boys has different abilities based on what they needed to achieve in their role as the hero...? So if Wild, as Zelda's appointed knight, needed to act as envoy to other cultures in Hyrule, Hylia would give him the ability to rapidly acquire new languages? At least the parts of the language he's likely to use.  
> (as an example, last time I went to Japan I was vegetarian, that country is NOT designed for people who don't eat fish. So my 'food based' Japanese got really good so I could ask people what was in things and if there were substitutions. BUT if someone asked me about where I live, I was like ...... I have no idea what you're saying. You don't have to know all of a language to get by, maybe Wild is like that?)
> 
> BUT, it's kind of the same with music... those boys pick up instruments and just KNOW how to play them. Weapons too. 
> 
> They're blessed by a goddess, there has to be some benefit to it?
> 
> Lala <3


	21. Chest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you order Four and Legend hurt/comfort with a side of fluff?
> 
> Your dinner’s ready. 
> 
> This one's a bit earlier than normal. I figure it's close enough to 'tomorrow' to pop it up now.
> 
> Also, this chapter is dedicated to Abitnervous.
> 
> It doesn’t look like you have an account so I can’t really reply to your messages in a way you’ll see besides popping a quick note here... But I really wanted to let you know that I’ve definitely noticed all of your little notes as you’ve gone through the fic and they’ve meant so much. 
> 
> I hope when you get to this chapter you see this and I hope you like it!
> 
> Thank you! <3

In the span of several hours the treacherous mountain path they'd been travelling along for days began to ease. The relentless snow on the ground gradually thinning, slowly replaced by jagged black rock and bare ground. Eventually tufts of undergrowth began to appear and then _finally,_ as they headed further inland and the temperature warmed, grass .

After traversing Twilight’s famous Snowpeak mountains, it was well before midday when the group allowed themselves to stumble off the path and into the first suitable clearing they found. The small clearing was perfect, surrounded by lush, soft, grass, right next to a stream and with a covering of sturdy, sweet smelling, trees that would screen them from the road.

They had easily divvied up the essential chores needed to set up camp and each went about their business, tired and wrung out, but looking forward to a good meal and then a chance to let their bodies _rest_ until morning.

The Smithy and the Veteran had been given water duty and, eager to get their work done so they could relax, the pair had dropped their packs and made their way directly through the screen of trees to the nearby stream.

With long, slow, _grateful_ exhales, they lowered themselves to sit on the soft, vibrant green, grass of the river bank.

Taking a bottle each from the pile, a comfortable silence fell over the pair as they began the familiar task. Dunking the skins, rinsing them out and filling them with fresh, cool, water.

The job didn’t take long and the soothing sounds of their friends laughing and chatting on the other side of the tree line had them wordlessly deciding to simply sit and relax for a moment, paddling their bare feet in the stream and enjoying the easy, rare, pleasure of having nowhere to be and nothing to do.

The grass was almost impossibly green and soft under them. The gentle, fragrant, breeze, that was whispering through the leaves was warm; a pleasant change from the relentless cold of the mountain that had bitten at them through their heavy layers. 

They could already smell the aromatics that told them, despite the sun still being high in the sky, Wild’s cooking pot was already heating. The Champion planning something special for their afternoon off after days of frozen meat and ice cold chilies.

Four tilted his face up towards the sun, his eyes closed gently, relishing the warmth. Meditatively, he watched the shadows of the sun-dappled leaves flit across the other side of his eyelids, quickly getting lost in the hypnotic movements of the black and red shadows dancing in the wind.

He could hear Legend, humming softly, his foot still splashing slightly in the water of the stream which was babbling over small rocks at a steady pace, filling the silence comfortably.

Slowly, unthinking, almost mesmerized by the sound of the water and rustle of the leaves he leaned to the side intending to slide down until he was reclining against the grass.

Instead, the side of his face hit something solid, surprisingly warm and extremely soft and he hummed in confusion when an arm came around his waist, steadying him.

‘ _Woah!_ ’ He heard Legend mutter in surprise,

Four realised dimly that he'd managed to catch himself on Legend's chest rather than the grass. Legend's very warm and comfy chest. Instead of sitting back up or angling himself to slide to the grass, he simply let eyes flutter closed, too tired and comfortable to care. 

He was already drifting. 

‘…Four?’ Legend sounded concerned at the smithy’s uncharacteristic display of vulnerability.

‘Mmmhmm?’ He breathed, trying to pretend he was more awake than he was.

At a strange angle, and half-pinned under the tiny Smithy, Legend reached up awkwardly and pulled gently on the long strands of Four’s hair, tilting his head back until dull, tired eyes met his own, startled, blue.

With a sigh, the shorter teen’s eyes drifted closed again, too heavy to keep open.

‘What the fuck… are you going to _sleep,_ Smithy?’

Rather than jolting awake, embarrassed and red-faced as the Veteran had expected. Four simply hummed again, non-committal, but telling in his lack of reply.

Concerned and hesitant, Legend reached out with his free hand and gently brushed the back of his fingers against Four’s cheek to test for fever.

Nothing.

Four wrenched his eyes open again, just slightly, looking up at Legend, expression dazed.

‘… you ok?’ The Vet asked, unsure.

Four hummed in agreement and shuffled sideways slightly until his face was burrowed again into Legend’s soft tunic.

‘Shuttup.’ He slurred. ‘Your tunic is so much softer than mine. ‘Tsnot fair.’

‘What do you mean it’s not fair?’ Legend laughed, a little too loud, relieved that Four was apparently simply tired, not feverish.

A small fist came up and, with impressive speed and strength considering Four’s half-asleep state, slammed into the Veteran’s upper arm.

Legend hissed in surprised pain squeezing his eyes closed.

‘Ow! You little _shit_!’

He tensed, intending to stand up, thinking that the younger hero was playing a prank, but Four took him by surprise again.

Instead of springing up, laughing and rosy-cheeked at catching the Veteran unawares, the small teen simply settled a long-fingered hand over the Veteran’s heart, fisting into the soft material of his tunic loosely.

Legend's words died in his throat, eyes wide.

From his slack, relaxed expression Four was already mostly asleep.

‘ _Shhh…’_ The Smithy breathed, words already fuzzy and vague and Legend wasn’t sure if he even knew he was saying them. ‘Just wanna take a … quick nap. You’re so warm… just…lemme sleep for a bit?’

Legend bit his lip with a frown, his concern coming back to him in a rush as he considered the other hero’s sleepy request.

The snow covered peak of Twilight’s Snowpeak had brought daily blizzards, a swirl of wet, freezing snow that stuck to their hair and clothes and required all of their strength to wade through.

The snow had been up to mid-calf for the Veteran, which he considered, meant it must have been up to Four’s knees.

With a low, guilty, exhalation of breath, Legend realised he hadn’t once checked on the smaller teen.

With all of them left exhausted after days of trudging through thick, wet, snow that had made their muscles burn with fatigue, the cold sapping their energy, he didn’t think _any_ of them had.

Even Wild, with his boundless stamina, had been too tired to cook. The cold making it impossible to start a real fire and leaving them with whatever he’d had available in his slate.

In hindsight Legend remembered how Four and Wind would huddle together on the edge of camp, bleary-eyed and quiet, only moving as much as they absolutely needed to.

Only minutes before, tired and not quite at full capacity himself, Legend had missed the significance of another clue.

As he and Four had stepped through the tree-line with the waterskins, the Veteran had seen Wind flop next to Sky, eyes already at half-mast. He remembered seeing Sky’s bewildered and slightly worried expression when he’d moved to wrap the young man in his sail cloth only to see Wind had already dropped off.

Four, it seemed had managed to hold on slightly longer than Wind by sheer force of will. But it seemed obvious now that the simple act of sitting down had been his undoing and his body had taken it as its cue to force the young Smithy to rest.

With blinding certainty Legend realised that, as tired as he was, Four must be _exhausted_.

In all of their time together, the young Smithy had never been anything but entirely self-possessed, almost to a fault. Out of all of them, he seemed especially wary of showing any vulnerability, wanting to be taken seriously and giving every task he tried his absolute best.

Exhausted and with his eyes already closed, it seemed that Four had originally been aiming for the soft grass behind them. His head landing against Legend’s chest purely by chance.

Four snuggled his face into Legend’s tunic again and gave a low sigh of satisfaction, eyes fluttering behind long, dark lashes. His hand, still fisted over the Veteran's heart tensed for a moment before relaxing again. He mumbled something softly that Legend couldn’t make out.

‘I never took you as the snuggly-type.’ Legend tried to tease, feeling off-kilter, his arm still throbbed from the punch, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

‘Shh…’ Four answered muzzily, much quieter this time. Drifting.

Legend sighed, shooting an uncomfortable look over his shoulder at where the others were.

There was a fleeting thought of simply pushing Four from his lap, and sitting next to the Smithy while he slept on the grass. He knew his friend was definitely not in his right mind right now, and would probably be very embarrassed about his slip when he woke up.

Legend tilted his head, uncertain, biting his lip.

The grass was _definitely_ soft enough, and Four _had_ been intending to lie down there in the first place.

He shook his head slowly. Eyes moving down, of their own accord, to take stock of the young man against his chest.

Now that he was really looking, Four looked terrible, dark circles stood out against alabaster pale skin which was devoid of its usual spots of colour high on his cheek bones. Normally it took the young man quite some time to drift off, but, after only a few minutes, it looked to Legend as if Four was already practically out cold. 

Wracking his brain, Legend couldn’t remember a single other time when the Smithy had ever _asked_ for something… if all he wanted was to sleep, it really wasn’t too much to ask for.

With a sigh he allowed his shoulders to relax, finally making his decision.

He placed one hand on the grass behind him, steadying their combined weight and the other on Four’s shoulder, one bare foot still paddling idly in the stream. He looked up at the patches of blue sky above them, eyes half-closed against the brightness.

‘When you wake up, we’re going to have a serious talk about boundaries.’ Legend sniped half-heartedly, feeling that he needed to have the last word even though he knew Four was too far gone to hear him.

The arm Four had punched gave a throb and he scowled.

‘Fucking _ouch._ That’s going to leave a bruise...’

Four smiled slightly in his sleep and Legend snorted in fond disgust through his nose, careful to keep the volume low this time.

‘You can’t fool me that easily you little bastard. You’re as bad as that crazy cook and the Traveller, you just hide it better.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE WEEK TO GO! Thank you so much to everyone who’s still with me on this!
> 
> Apparently, in times of stress (and I only just realised this a couple of days ago) I like to write fics of characters sleeping and comforting each other. Haha, it’s very soothing, and I highly recommend it.
> 
> Seriously, just let these boys SLEEP and we can all live vicariously through them! There’ll be more soft sleepy chapters to come, I’m sure! Imagining the boys getting a solid 8 hours is like crack to me. 
> 
> Oh yeah. Born to be mild.  
> <3


	22. Glaze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting the chapter for tomorrow up now, because sleep is for the weak and I have a ridiculous amount to do tomorrow (today...*sigh*...)

Ravio hesitated in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Wild cook and trying to muster up the courage to approach.

Originally, he had planned to simply slip unseen past the open door on his way to the library, but a gentle humming had caught his attention, and when he'd chanced a look inside, he caught sight of the scarred hero smiling as he peeled carrots over the wooden sink. 

The Lorulian reached his hand into his pocket, gently squeezing the small, crumpled, piece of paper that he’d carried around with him ever since he’d arrived in Hyrule almost a year ago.

With a small, quiet, _hopeful_ smile, Ravio decided he couldn’t let this opportunity pass.

He cleared his throat and spoke.

‘Mr Hero Cook?’

Baffled at the odd form of address, Wild looked up and started slightly, jolted from his cooking reverie.

The Lorulean, with his ever-present bunny hood covering his face, and his hands hidden in the loose, purple robes, looked very out of place standing in the doorway of Legend's well scrubbed, rustic kitchen.

‘Oh! Yes?’

‘Can I have a moment of your time?’ The Lorulian hedged, clearly nervous.

Wild nodded and waited, bemused.

It was the first time Legend’s housemate/friend had approached him directly during their stay and it was clear from his body-language that the other was still not entirely comfortable.

It had been obvious when they’d first arrived at the green painted door of the Veteran’s house that Ravio was pleased but surprised to see Legend. Initially he had been charismatic, if a little high-strung, jumping from person to person and serving tea and snacks to the weary travellers.

But, when he realised they were _all staying_ the Lorulian had very quickly made an excuse and left the room, leaving the group to their own devices and heading upstairs to escape from the sudden influx of noise.

Legend's sharp eyes had caught his escape and, with a rather weary sigh, he'd placed down his tea-cup and hauled himself to his feet, following after his friend.

In the two days that followed, Ravio had made several more, brief, appearances, obviously trying his best, but just as obviously, in Wild’s eyes at least, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people that were suddenly living in his home.

Each time he’d ventured out, he'd kept his hood up, a physical and emotional barrier between him and the group.

Such an obvious lack of trust might have made some of the others nervous if the Veteran hadn't accepted his housemate dressing like an enormous, purple, rabbit so easily, taking it in his stride and acting as if such an occurrence was completely normal. 

Stiffly, Ravio moved into the kitchen and closer to Wild, his hood and his defences still very much up.

‘I… want to ask a… favour.’ He began.

Wild nodded, head tilted slightly in confusion. He put the knife he was holding down and turned to give Ravio his full attention.

‘What do you need?’ He asked seriously. ‘Is Legend ok?’

Ravio jolted slightly as if surprised and then let out a slight laugh, hands coming out of his sleeves to wave at him in dismissal.

‘No, Link is fine!’ He paused, and tilted his own head, considering. ‘But I guess it does concern him?’ He reached into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a neatly folded, but very worn, piece of paper.

He considered it silently for a moment before apparently reaching a decision. Carefully, slowly, as if it was something unspeakably precious, he unfolded the paper and smoothed the creases. The long-fingered hands, the only part of the young man that Wild could see, were clutching the paper.

Wild watched silently, waiting for him to speak.

‘Mr Hero mentioned that you are the cook of the group.’ Ravio mumbled, finally, fidgeting slightly.

Wild nodded, baffled. He suddenly felt as if he was being studied intensely from underneath the purple rabbit hood.

Ravio took a hesitant step forwards and then stopped, fidgeting again. Wild watched, unsure how to help.

The Lorulean visibly steeled himself and strode forwards thrusting the paper at Wild, who took it on reflex.

Confused, the Champion looked down.

A recipe.

‘That, Mr Hero Cook.’ Ravio began grandiosely, using his merchant voice. ‘Is my grandmother’s recipe for a traditional Lorulean holiday sweet. It was my favourite growing up, and when Mr Hero and I went to Lorule during his last adventure, I managed to get him to try it.’

Ravio’s voice under the hood turned a little fond and his shoulders visibly relaxed at the memory. ‘He liked it. A _lot_.’

He shuffled his feet, visibly shifting his weight uncomfortably to one foot and then back again, unable to keep still.

Wild nodded slowly, beginning to see where this was going.

Ravio waved his hand at the recipe. ‘I would like to make it… to thank Mr Hero for letting me stay.’

He wrung his hands, voice dropping to a whisper. ‘It isn’t _safe_ in Lorule, so Link has helped me more than I think even he realises.’

He took a deep breath and ploughed on, gesturing at the paper.

‘That is one of the only things I took from my house in Lorule before coming to live here. But, because I’ve never made anything like it before... every time I try...’

He spread his hands helplessly. ‘It’s always a disaster. I just don’t know what all the special cooking words mean. If…’ he paused again searching for words and Wild smiled encouragingly, he thought he knew what Ravio was trying to ask, but didn’t want to make an assumption that ended up being wrong.

‘Could you show me how to make it, Mr Hero Cook, sir?’

Wild looked down at the paper in his hands, worrying his lip between his lip in the sudden, heavy silence as he read through the instructions.

He nodded slowly to himself and then, finally, looked up with an easy grin. Ravio felt himself smile in return.

‘Of course! Come and help me finish peeling these carrots and potatoes and we’ll get started as soon as the stew goes on the stove.’

Ravio gave a little laugh of victory and bounded forwards, reaching for the knife.

They fell into an easy silence and Ravio felt himself relaxing as Wild began to subconsciously hum again, apparently content to simply be quiet. Ravio was relieved to find himself not giving in to the nervous chatter that he relied on as a merchant and which always left him so exhausted at the end of the day.

Wild handed him a freshly peeled potato with a small smile and Ravio, even knowing that his face couldn’t be seen, found himself smiling easily back.

When Link had first arrived at the house with eight other men, the Lorulian had been hesitant, feeling awkward and uncomfortable in his own home. The hero had taken him aside, actively encouraging him to seek the others out, something which was so out of character for the normally jaded and anti-social Veteran that it was positively jarring, practically a declaration of love for the group he was travelling with.

Ravio suddenly understood his friend's subtle prompting.

After almost two days of living in the same house, the cook was the first of the group that Ravio had allowed himself to approach. The longer he watched this ‘Wild’, so similar to Link in so many ways and so different in so many others, he suddenly knew that Link was right. 

This was someone he could _trust_. 

He handed Wild the peeled potato and the Champion chopped it with alarming speed, sweeping the pieces off the wooden board and into the pot with the edge of his knife. He gave everything a final stir and then carefully placed the pot on the stove to simmer, setting the lid half on so the steam could escape.

‘Ok! Let’s try this dessert.’ He held out his hand and Ravio handed him the piece of paper again.

Wild frowned at it, considering.

‘I understand everything except… this…’ he pointed at an ingredient on the paper and squinted down, sounding it out.

‘…cocoa?’ He looked up at the hooded young man. ‘I don’t know what that is... or where to get it…’

Ravio jumped from foot to foot for a moment in apparent excitement and then reached his hands into a hidden pocket of his robes.

‘Of course, how silly of me!’ He pulled out a small pouch and handed it to Wild who took it curiously and peered inside.

‘Cocoa is a Lorulian delicacy.’ A soft laugh came from within the hood. ‘We use it in just about everything, but mostly for sweets. Mr Hero is a very big fan.’

Impulsively, Wild dunked his finger into the fine brown powder and then licked it, spluttering in surprise when the powder coated his tongue. It didn’t taste _at all_ like he expected.

‘Legend… likes this? In… _desserts_?’

‘Oh yes,’ Ravio agreed. The wry, darkly amused, voice behind the hood suddenly reminded Wild _strongly_ of the Veteran. ‘It is very bitter by itself, it needs to be mixed with sugar.’

‘Thanks for warning me.’ Wild laughed.

He placed the pouch of cocoa on the bench and then took a moment to pull the other ingredients they needed from the slate, humming in curiosity when everything was in front of them, unsure how the bitter cocoa powder would fit in with the other flavours.

He turned to Ravio and started slightly when he saw the dark-haired young man had finally pushed his hood back, giving Wild his first glimpse of the older teen's face as he stared at the worn recipe in his hands.

Ravio looked exactly like Legend, but there was something about his expression, the way the muscles had formed over the years and the emotions he allowed himself to show that made them look completely different. Wild knew that even if they were to dye their hair the same colour and dress in the same clothes, he could never confuse the two.

The Champion allowed the corners of his mouth to tilt up in subtle satisfaction at the trust the other man was showing him and he cleared his throat gently, deciding there was no need to mention it verbally. Instead he turned his attention to the ingredients in front of him, .

‘Do you want to make it together as a trial run now and then we can make another batch for dessert later tonight for the others?’

Ravio wrung his hands together awkwardly and smiled in relief. ‘I would appreciate that very much, Mr Hero Cook.’

O o O o O

As expected, with Wild’s help, the baking went without a hitch.

Because the Champion didn’t know anything about cocoa they had followed the recipe to the letter.

Whipping and creaming, sieving and folding until, finally, the ramekins were placed into the spotless oven and the two decided to sit at the table for a warm drink while they waited for the cakes to bake.

Ravio quickly found that talking to the Champion was like talking to Link but at the same time was somehow completely different.

When Wild reached up to rub the back of his hair in embarrassment, the tilt of his head, and the way he averted his eyes so _Link,_ Ravio had found himself staring and losing track of the conversation, wondering if Wild was simply what Link would have been if the Veteran had experienced the Champion's adventure rather than his own.

But, as they continued to talk and he got to know the younger man better, the Lorulian saw beyond his initial impressions and began to realise that the two heroes had vastly different personalities despite several unmistakable parallels. Ravio supposed the same could be said of him. 

All in all, he found Wild fascinating, if a little tragic.

The first night, after following him from the room, Link had given the Lorulian a very brief run down on each of the others to help try to quell his anxiety. He’d told him in a few sentences that Wild had been injured, placed into something called a shrine to heal, and now had retrograde amnesia. The young man unable to remember anything from his life before the injuries except for a few, tiny, excerpts of memory.

Ravio would have to have been blind to miss the significant scarring on the left side of Wild’s body. But the Lorulean also couldn’t help but notice uncomfortably how old the injuries were... _impossibly_ old, despite the man's young appearance. 

He watched Wild finely chop an acorn, a chickaloo nut and a piece of apple into very fine cubes, holding a few out to a happily chirping Sheerow with a contagious smile.

With a sad jolt, Ravio found himself wondering whether the memory issues the young man had were really a result of the healing effects of the shrine or if they had been caused by something else.

The pain Wild endured must have been unbearable, Ravio found his eyes lingering on an especially angry looking scar that stretched from under his left ear to the top of his collar bone. He didn’t know how a person could receive an injury like that and still be alive.

It seemed entirely possible to the Lorulean that the amnesia, rather than being a by-product of the shrine's healing, was instead Wild’s mind’s way of protecting itself, a psychological response to being injured so badly. It seemed possible that the amnesia was Wild's brain _choosing_ not to remember the obviously, _deeply,_ traumatising, events that led up to his injury.

Ravio had personally seen what Hylia put her chosen hero through and he would always feel a burning guilt in the pit of his stomach for not being able to help more when Link was sent, time after time, into battle. The Lorulian left to watch helplessly as Link came back from each adventure just a little more cynical, a little more jaded than he had been when he left.

It had not escaped Ravio's attention that this time, Link seemed to be lighter, more hopeful, slightly less weighed down by his own destiny.

Ravio smiled when Sheerow, always an excellent judge of character, fluttered up to sit on Wild’s hand, pecking at the small pieces of nuts and fruit he held in his palm. The small bird chirped happily, flapping his wings in delight when the quietly laughing Champion had stroked him gently on the back with a single, careful, finger.

The buzzer on the oven went off with a loud bing, making the pair jump and then laugh.

Wild carefully placed Sheerow down on the table and then moved to pull the ramekins from the oven, peering into them curiously.

To the Champion the cakes looked a little shrivelled and slightly burnt, he raised his eyebrows doubtfully but Ravio, peering over his shoulder, gave a happy exclamation and an excited clap of his hands. With a shrug, Wild followed the last step of the recipe, inverting the concoction onto a plate, leaving behind a rather unimpressive looking, dumpy brown cake.

‘It smells good.’ He mumbled doubtfully. ‘But the _colour_ … are you _sure_ this is…right?’

The Lorulian handed him a small spoon. ‘Try it?’ he invited, eyes suddenly bright with anticipation.

Wild looked at the squat brown cake doubtfully, the centre was already starting to sink into itself in a way that was distinctly unappetising.

He looked over the recipe again, and gave a slow nod. He was sure he’d done everything right, but if this was the result…? He suddenly wondered if the Lorulian was playing a trick on him. Surely there was no way Legend really _liked_ this dry looking, brown lump?

With a shrug, he pressed his spoon into the cake, exclaiming in dismay when, without warning, a dark brown river cascaded out of the middle of the confection.

‘Ah! What? They’re not cooked?!’

Ravio smiled, bouncing from foot to foot. ‘They look perfect Mr Cook Hero - the chocolate glaze is the best part! I think you’ve done it!’

Wild looked at the shiny brown mixture running out of the cake for a moment, fascinated, before finally scraping up a bite of chocolate glaze and a small blob of spongy brown cake.

He stared at it for a moment, unsure, and then shrugged, placing the spoonful of warm chocolate mixture in his mouth.

A beat of silence followed and Ravio's grin began to expand.

‘ _Mmmmmmmm!_ ’ Wild breathed, eyes flying wide open, disbelieving and shocked. He was not expecting something that was that shade of brown to taste so rich and sweet.

He looked at the grinning Ravio in astonishment.

‘ _What is this_?’ He exclaimed thickly. ‘… _Ravio?!_ ’

Ravio laughed, delighted and unsurprised by his reaction. 

Wild stared at the plate in bewilderment as if it held the secrets of the universe, his mouth slightly open, spoon still clutched in his hand.

Ravio covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. Wild’s reaction was almost identical to how Legend’s had been.

The purple bunny suddenly hoped all of the heroes had the same reaction to the chocolate that both Wild and Legend had when they tried it after dinner. He laughed slightly a the mental image and clapped his hands together gently, smiling when Wild’s eyes shifted to his.

‘Now that I’ve seen it done, do you mind if I try making the next batch?’ Ravio gestured at the plate with the oozing pudding on it that was still clutched in the Champion's hand. ‘You can finish that one, if you like?’

Wordlessly, Wild nodded and perched himself on the edge of a wooden chair at the table, his eyes following Ravio’s movements as the Lorulian began baking, his spoon digging enthusiastically into the warm cake.

He wondered suddenly how much cocoa Ravio had lying around, and if the merchant would be willing to part with some of it.

For the first time the Champion understood, at a deep, _visceral_ , level, the Veteran’s need to _hoard_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *huff* this chapter threw me ... something feels really off about it, but, I just can't put my finger on what... 
> 
> RAVIO...!
> 
> I've never written him before, and haven't seen a lot of him, so I'm not sure if my headcanon of him matches others.
> 
> I always see him as having that kind of frenetic, stressed-out vibe of trying to entertain everyone at the expense of his own energy levels.
> 
> I don't know how to explain it other than, when I picture him in my head... Merchant Ravio seems like a facade he puts up when he's 'working' and it leaves him tired at the end of the day?
> 
> Am I just projecting? I don't know. But I just can't imagine him any other way?
> 
> I also know a lot of the fandom sees him and Legend together, but, for the sake of this fic, I just wanted them to be close friends? A found-family in the way that the rest of the group kind of are?


	23. Nap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> Sorry I haven’t replied to any comments over the past couple of days, honestly I’m just trying to keep my head above water. 
> 
> BUT I’ve read every single one and they give me life. <3

Four pushed open the front door of the cottage he shared with his Grandpa with a weary, relieved sigh, stepping over the threshold and leading the others inside. Guided by muscle memory, he turned and hung his pack on a hook next to the door and then placed his hands on the back of the sofa that stood between them and the fireplace, leaning over it to peer into the kitchen.

He shot a look out the window at the chimney of the attached forge, it was dormant and cold and he shrugged, placing his hands on his hips.

‘It looks like grandpa isn’t home,’ He began. ‘but he should be home later tonight, he must have gotten held up at the castle.’

Time rolled his shoulders and nodded, looking around the small, tidy, room.

With the exception of a small vase of freshly cut flowers, the front room of the cottage looked exactly the same as it had the last time the chain visited.

He fixed his eye on the smallest ‘Is there anything you think your Grandpa will need us to do while it’s still light?’

Four nodded with a small smile. ‘I have to add a reinforcement to my shield while we’re here, so I can get started on that if you guys could go into town and restock our supplies and get something for dinner? I can sharpen the swords and do repairs when you get back.’

Time nodded. ‘That sounds good to me. It will be good to get the shopping out of the way while we have time.’

He gestured to the others, but Four stopped him.

‘Actually, Twi, could you stay? I might need help with some heavy lifting?’

The Rancher nodded and hung back as the others filed back out the door. Four didn’t miss the small, amused smile on Time’s face that told him that the elder saw right through his ulterior motive for requesting Twilight’s company.

O o O o O

‘Ok, what do you need me to do?’ Twilight asked, he sat on the edge of the overstuffed couch with a small sigh, massaging his shoulder with one hand and stretching his neck.

Four laughed. ‘Really, Twi?’

Twilight looked at him in disbelief, lost.

‘…what?’

Curious, intelligent eyes caught his own and the Rancher found himself flushing in embarrassment without really knowing why. 

‘Wolfie has been patrolling for the last two nights.’ Four began matter-of-factly. He held up a hand to forestall Twilight’s objections. ‘I have eyes, Twi. I’ve seen him myself, slinking through the trees at all hours.’

Twilight deflated, and ran a hand down his face, the weary tilt to his shoulders betraying his fatigue.

‘So.' Four continued, eyes glinting as he sensed victory. 'Your job today, while everyone restocks and I reinforce my shield is… to take a nap.’

The Rancher snorted through his nose and raised a disbelieving eyebrow, staring at the Smithy who stared right back.

‘You _can’t_ be serious?’ He mumbled finally after the silence stretched, uncomfortably long.

Four’s grin suddenly acquired a dark edge and Twilight ran a hand through his hair laughing slightly in disbelief.

‘You _are_ serious? Come on Four, I’m fine.’

The Smithy nodded. ‘I’m sure you are, but the others are too far ahead to catch now, and I don’t need your help in the forge, so you may as well do something.’

Twi shook his head slowly, dawning comprehension sweeping over his face.

‘You planned this!’ He accused.

Four nodded, unrepentant and serene. ‘I did. Just humour me and lay down for a few minutes, if you’re still not tired by the time I’ve added the reinforcements to the back of my shield, I’ll leave you alone.’

Backed into a corner, and with nothing else to do, Twilight levelled a half-hearted glare at the younger teen and nodded. The disgruntled puff of air he allowed to escape from his nose sounded suspiciously like Wolfie, but without another word he bent to remove his shoes, bringing his feet up on the couch he was sitting on and lying stiffly on his back, his hands folded across his stomach.

He watched Four walk away and thought that he was headed to the forge to begin work, alone for a moment Twilight felt ridiculous, the sun was still high in the sky, Four couldn't seriously expect him to sleep? He began to twiddle his thumbs awkwardly, already planning on fixing a broken seam on one of his tunics as soon as he heard Four begin work in the forge, but his musings were interrupted a moment later when the smaller man returned with his arms full of cushions and blankets. 

He rolled his eyes so hard it hurt before fixing the Smithy with a incredulous look, but Four simply grinned down at him. 

‘Lean forwards a bit.’ He instructed, eyes glinting.

Wordlessly, Twilight leaned forwards, seeing no reason not to humour the other teen now that he’d already gone this far.

A cushion was placed on the armrest of the couch and he leaned back, letting out an involuntary sigh of relief when his stiff shoulders and neck were supported by the soft fabric.

He laughed when Four shook a light blanket over him, the material providing just enough weight to add comfort but not enough to overheat. He buried his face in it for a moment, before wrapping his hands in the soft fleece, pulling it up to his shoulders.

It’s pleasantly warm, in Four’s living room and the cushion under his neck and the material of the fleece blanket and sofa are impossibly soft. He finds himself melting into them with a long, slow, exhale that he can’t quite help.

'You're really going all out.' He half-accused the Smithy as he settled into the cushions. 

‘Comfy?’ He could hear the grin in Four’s voice. ‘This has always been my favourite couch to nap on. Especially when…’ he watched the short teen walk over to the back door, wedging it open with a small block of wood apparently there for precisely that purpose.

A cool breeze scented with flowers touched Twilight’s face. He could hear the wind rustling in the trees and a bird singing in the distance.

He hummed in surprised agreement.

‘Actually, _yes_.’ He was still lying stiffly on his back, his hands across his stomach, determined not to give in to the pull of sleep.

‘Good.’ Another slight laugh, ‘You just stay here. I’ll be finished well before the others come back, I’ll wake you up before they get here.’

Normally Twilight would protest, his nature preventing him from resting while the others worked, but he realised suddenly that Four was right.

The past few nights there had been a noticeable increase in monster activity and, every night, as the others were heading off to bed, he would transform and patrol the area around their camp. His sensitive nose and ears were able to pick up the trails of monsters long before his Hylian senses could and he had been in his fair share of scrapes with the infected beasts that seemed determined to sneak up on his sleeping friends.

He really did need to rest.

So, making a sudden decision, he let the remnants of his clinging stubbornness fade away and gave in, simply nodding his agreement and burrowing further into the blanket.

Four made a surprised sound, obviously expecting more resistance and lowered his voice.

‘Guess I was right then, you really are running on fumes.’ He lowered his voice even more. Now that Twilight had given himself permission to rest, he was already beginning to drift.

‘Thanks for keeping an eye on us, Twi. It's your turn to take a break.’

Twilight didn’t hear the Smithy leave the room.

He also didn’t wake when Four started working on his shield, the rhythmic beating of the Smithy's hammer in the forge was twisted by Twilight’s subconscious into warped dreams about strange birds, instruments, and people who spoke with a lilting bell-like voice that he didn’t understand.

Soon, he was too far under to even dream.

O o O o O

When he opened his eyes he felt incredibly refreshed.

He stretched his arms luxuriously over his head and gave a satisfied groan when his back cracked. The light coming in through the still cracked door had not changed much, which meant despite how much better he felt, he must only have been sleeping for a few hours.

‘Hey.’

Twilight turned his head towards the greeting to see Four, sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace, a small bottle of oil and a soft cloth in his hands, polishing his newly reinforced shield.

‘How are you feeling?’ The Smithy asked.

‘Amazing.’ Twilight managed. ‘You were right, I was tired.’

Four laughed, eyes drifting back to the shield in his hands.

‘That’s an understatement, I’ve never seen you sleep so hard. I had to check your pulse when I came in and you didn’t even twitch! I thought you’d died, right here, on my sofa.’ He laughed again and Twilight joined in, a little baffled, not entirely sure if his friend was joking.

Four twisted his head to look out the door.

‘You still have plenty of time.’

He gestured at his shield with the soft, oil-covered cloth in his hand. ‘This is going to take me at least a few more hours, so you may as well get some more sleep while you have the chance.’

Twilight breathed in through his nose, actually considering the suggestion.

He _was_ extremely comfortable, the light breeze from outside was still swirling through the room and the last of his exhaustion still pulled at his eyelids.

‘You know what?’ He muttered, snuggling back down, catching Four’s pleased but surprised expression. ‘I think I will.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to bed (ridiculously) early tonight myself... so I'm posting it early.
> 
> I hope the chapter makes sense.
> 
> Take care of yourselves!  
> Lala <3


	24. Knit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE Wars. He's definitely responsible and he's self-sacrificing because, well... he's a Link. 
> 
> BUT, in my head I also see him as one of the kinder members of the chain, he's like one of the big brothers and always puts the others before himself. He seems... unjudgmental, charismatic, extremely likable? 
> 
> Again, I could be projecting?
> 
> He's definitely underrated in my mind, but, saying that, I really struggle to write him so I understand why there isn't THAT much Warriors based content.

Warriors blew a gust of warm air into his gloved hands, rubbing them together and then tucking them under his arms, shifting his weight from foot to foot subconsciously as he tried to hide his shivers.

Goddess he _loathed_ being cold.

He didn't even notice Wild sidle up next to him. 

‘Are you still shivering?’ Wild asked quietly, making the Captain jump, startled. ‘Even through the Rito headdress I gave you?’

The soldier shook his head in denial, but didn’t speak. He could tell from Wild's expression that the teen didn't believe him, if he was honest, he didn't believe himself.

Wild stepped closer and frowned when he realised Warriors' normally sharp eyes, constantly moving as they looked for threats hidden in dark shadows and hard-to-see corners, were slightly glazed and distant.

Of all of them, Warriors struggled the most with the extreme cold, and the mountains of Wild’s Hyrule were the coldest and most unforgiving snowy area of any of their lands.

‘No, I'm fine.’ He answered softly, he reached up to touch the feathers of the Rito Headdress with one slightly shaking finger. ‘The headdress helps so much.’ He suppressed another shiver and wrapped his scarf around himself more firmly. ‘It’s just particularly cold today is all, it took me by surprise.’

Wild nodded slowly, biting his lip and running his eyes over the stiff form of his friend. He had begun to suspect that the layer of chainmail Wars wore tended to leach extra heat from his body, especially when it was slightly windy as it was today.

Concerned eyes flicked to the uncharacteristically quiet soldier, huddled in his own space, eyes glazed over, the warrior already checking out slightly from the conversation. Wild nodded slowly and backed away, his concern growing when Warriors didn't seem to notice.

The Champion crept towards Time and Twilight, catching their attention with a low whistle. 

‘I’ll be back soon.’ Wild whispered. ‘There’s something I have to take care of, it won’t take me longer than an hour and I’ll be back in time to make dinner.’

His flicked his eyes towards Warriors, suggestively. ‘It’s to go with that… _other_ thing I’ve been working on.’ He fidgeted awkwardly and the others nodded in understanding sharing a small smile.

‘Alright, Cub.’ Twilight whispered, keeping his voice low so Warriors didn't hear. ‘But stick to the towns.’

Wild nodded. ‘I only need to go to Rito and Hateno.’ He mumbled. ‘It won’t take long at all.’

‘Be careful.’ Time added. ‘Drop your traveller’s medallion just out of sight so you can come back fast if you need to, ok?’

Wild nodded and moved silently into the darkening shadows of the forest, disappearing from sight surprisingly quickly.

O o O o O

‘Hey, Warriors… ? C-can I borrow you for a minute?’ Wild asked, fidgeting slightly.

Warriors, obviously finally comfortable in his spot by the fire, stood without hesitation, shivering almost instantly when the blanket he was curled up in slid to the ground. 

He followed Wild out of the warm circle of light and back into the snow.

Once they were out of sight of the others and behind several layers of trees Wild stopped, his slate in his hands.

‘What’s wrong? Are you ok?’ The solider asked immediately, obviously picking up on the Champion’s out of character body language.

Wild let out an ironic laugh, his breath misting in the freezing air between them, he tapped on his slate and a moment later, several threads of blue coalesced into something solid in his hands.

In answer, he held out the package, wrapped in colourful paper and tied with dyed twine.

Confused, Warriors took it, eyebrows raising at the surprising heft of the relatively small package.

‘…what _is_ this?’ He asked, uncertain.

‘A …gift. For you.’ Wild swallowed, averting his eyes to the tree line. Face bright red.

‘…for _me_?’

A nod.

Very confused, Warriors crouched down and laid the package carefully on the driest patch of ground he could find. He began unwrapping the string with numb, shaking fingers, the cold once again settling into his bones, finally, once he unpeeled the last layer of paper to reveal a swathe of thick, folded material.

He looked up, unsure what it was, but able to tell from Wild’s body language that this was far more significant than it seemed on the surface.

He reached for the material, finally realising what it was when his fingers brushed against the soft Rito down.

Powerless to stop himself he allowed himself to stroke it gently. A full snowquill set, dyed a beautiful shade of white.

He could feel the ambient warmth from the material from where he was standing. Could see the exceptionally high quality of the clothing and knew it must have been very expensive.

Warriors gulped, trying to find the words that expressed how touched he was.

‘I can’t accept this!’ He gasped instead, overwhelmed.

He hands were running ceaselessly over the material, seeking the warmth, unable to tear his eyes from it.

‘This is… _Wild, this is_ …’ his brain was beginning to muddle from both his emotions and the cold, he was so _grateful_ , so touched, the Champion must have gone all the way to Rito Village to buy the set and then to Hateno to dye it, all for… _him_? Simply because he was struggling a little with the cold?

Warriors stumbled to a halt, cutting himself off and trying to rearrange his swirling thoughts.

Luckily Wild filled the gap. ‘ _Please_ Wars, I already have a set, I have more rupees than I can spend. I _want_ you to have them.’

‘Wild…I-‘

A warm, gentle hand came down to rest over the top of his icy one and he followed it up to see Wild’s earnest expression.

‘There’s something else.’ The Champion mumbled, fumbling in a pocket and pulling out another, smaller piece of material. He shoved it quickly into Warriors’ hands as if embarrassed.

For the second time that night, Warriors found himself staring, confused, at a piece of material.

This one felt different to the other though, warm, but in a different way he couldn’t describe.

‘A…cap?’ He asked.

Wild nodded. ‘I made it.’ He breathed. ‘For you. I noticed you were still getting cold and thought you could wear this over the headdress to keep more warmth in. But today I realised how bad it still was and how much you needed the whole set.’ He wrung his hands awkwardly, eyes on the tree line rather than his friend.

‘…but, I still want you to have it.’

Warriors looked down at the cap in his hands. It was knitted from a thick, forest green yarn. Not as long as Legend’s hat, but of a similar shape, nubbed on the end where Legend’s tapered off.

He smiled softly, his eyes slightly wet.

Subconsciously, he had noticed Wild keeping a closer eye on him over the last few days, hiding his hands when Warriors walked by unexpectedly, the Champion looking surprisingly shifty.

Struggling with the cold as he had been, he hadn’t paid much mind, but the signs were all there.

Wild had been working on this cap for days.

Just for him.

With a grin, he pulled it on, sighing when, as Wild predicted, it trapped in more of the residual heat from the Snowquill headdress.

‘Ah…’ He breathed, eyes closed in bliss. ‘This is _perfect_.’

‘Not quite.’ Wild said softly, Warriors opened his eyes to see Wild holding out the Snowquill tunic. ‘Put this on too.’

Warriors hesitated once more, looked down into Wild’s eyes and noticed how sincerely he wanted to give his friend this gift.

He swallowed and nodded, noticing when Wild’s face broke into a beaming smile.

With careful hands he accepted the tunic and slipped it over his head, the feeling of being _warm_ for the first time in days flowing over him.

He sighed, eyes slipping closed.

His muscles, so tight from trying to bunch together to retain the warmth began to loosen, leaving behind a tiredness and a dull ache he hadn’t even noticed.

‘Oh…’ He laughed. He opened his eyes to see Wild grinning at him smugly.

‘Alright, alright. You were right.’ Warriors laughed, his breath misting in front of his face. ‘The headdress by itself wasn’t enough, ok?’

Wild nooded, satisfied and Warriors looked down at his arms. The tunic fit perfectly, he didn’t remember ever being so warm in the snow.

His face and cheeks were still a little cold, but protected by the snowquill headdress the worst of the air’s bite were gone, leaving him feeling refreshed and alert rather than dull and lethargic.

Tomorrow, when they began their trek higher up the mountain, he’d put on the boots and trousers and knew he’d be perfectly fine.

He pulled Wild into a gentle hug.

 _‘Thank you_ , Wild.’

A moment later, gentle, cautious arms snaked around his waist, hugging him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to let you all know in advance... I realise there are only a few days left, but I'm a bit behind on my prep for the remaining chapters because I have four exams next week for uni. 
> 
> I just haven't had a chance to think about the prompts.
> 
> Honestly, I'd be really irritated at myself if I had to miss a day this close to the end, but... exams have to come first, so if I do end up missing a day, I'm probably just curled up in a corner somewhere crying and trying to figure out WHY I'm meant to care about learning the names of bony landmarks on vertebrae when I'm studying nutrition and food science... 
> 
> Oh, and I've also promised myself I'd sleep more... so there's that. 
> 
> Of course I'll do my best to continue posting every day, there are only four days left! 
> 
> <3


	25. Fur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did one of my exams early and got a GOOD grade, so I'm drinking red wine and writing this to celebrate. OH YES.

Twilight tilted his head up to the sun and resheathed his sword with a flick of his wrist, breathing hard. A drop of sweat rolled from his brow to the top of his collar bone, his skin glistening with sweat from his mid-afternoon training.

He sucked in a steady, deep, breath through his nose, held it for a moment, and then slowly released it. He felt his heart beat slow slightly and rolled his shoulders trying to loosen his stiff muscles.

A sudden blur of movement in the corner of his eye had him turning his head rapidly, his attention shifting completely to the other side of the yard. There, half hidden by the shadows of the enormous, gnarled, oak trees that bordered the perimeter stood a dark creature.

He gasped, his heart speeding up again when the creature took a few steps into the light revealing its form. Hesitant, it paused, eyes on his face, gauging his reaction.

Twilight crouched low.

Without further warning, the animal charged right at him, sharp teeth visible, the whites of its eyes showing, pink tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

Twilight plonked himself down to sit on the ground, tapping his knees with his hands in encouragement, a bright smile on his face.

He held his arms out just as the beast collided with him, half knocking him over.

He laughed, high-pitched and excited, arms reflexively wrapping around the creature as he attempted to keep his balance.

‘What, in Hylia’s name, are you _doing_?’ Sky’s amused voice cut through his laughing and Twi looked up with a grin to see the Skyloftian leaning his forearms on the gate of the stable wearing a bemused smile.

‘What kind of animal is that?’ Sky asked, confused.

Twilight was bewildered. He looked down at the tri-coloured stable dog in his lap, it gazed up at him, the expression in its chocolate brown eyes nothing but sheer adoration and love, tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

‘Do you mean… the dog?’

He gasped in sudden dismayed realisation.

‘Sky. _Tell_ _me you’ve seen a dog before?!_ You come in here _right. now_!’

Sky laughed and cautiously opened the gate leading from the stable into the grassy field next to it, wincing slightly when the rusty hinges squeaked in protest.

He closed it carefully behind him, eyeing the dog warily.

‘No... we don’t have them in Skyloft.’ He said softly, curious. ‘What do you use them for?’

He paused, suddenly looking mistrustful. ‘Is this another animal you drink milk from? Look, Twi, I know Time loves it and says it's an acquired taste, but I just don't think I can drink anymo-’

Twilight’s horrified expression deepened.

‘What?! _Noo_ …’ he breathed, interrupting. ‘Dogs aren't milk animals.’

He ruffled the dog’s ears thoughtfully, not even bothering to suppress his smile when it stared back up at him, panting softly, eyes wide and trusting.

‘Dogs are pack animals. They’re intelligent, we use them to herd other animals, or for security… for company.’

He paused suddenly, noticing that Sky had still not moved any closer. 

‘Here, make a fist and hold it out towards his nose.’

Obediently, Sky did, laughing softly when the dog first sniffed his hand curiously and then gave him a cautious lick.

‘He likes you! Try patting him on the head.’ Twi encouraged, beaming when Sky's grin expanded.

The Skyloftian reached out further, letting the tips of his fingers brush the soft fur of the dog’s head, rubbing behind its impossibly soft ears in the same way he knew his Loftwing liked.

Instantly, the dog swiveled its head from Twilight towards Sky, tongue lolling out and eyes adoring.

With a laugh, he put a hand on the side of its neck, scruffing up the fur, the dog’s tail started wagging rhythmically against Twilight’s leg at the attention.

‘ _Awww_.’ Sky breathed, patting more confidently.

Twilight laughed.

Sky lowered himself to sit next to Twilight and shuffled forwards a little bit so he could reach the dog with both hands, ruffling its neck the way he’d seen Twilight do.

With a soft exhalation of air and a small grunt, the dog rolled off Twilight’s lap and plonked onto its side, spinning over so its belly was exposed, all four paws in the air.

Startled, at the sudden change, Sky held both hands up and away from the dog, wide eyes on Twilight.

‘He wants you to pat his belly.’ Twi grinned.

‘Oh… ok!’

O o O o O

The dog gave an excited high pitched yip, it’s whole body wagging and tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

Sky looked down, directly into a pair of sparkling, chocolate brown eyes and couldn't help but laugh. The dog bounced to the side and then back again, bending it’s front legs, with another yip.

The young man wound back his arm, paused for a moment, and then flung the stick, hard, into the field beside the stable, just like Twilight had shown him.

The dog tore after it, its body knowing every divot and rock in the grass surrounding its home. Without pausing, or even slowing down, the dog snapped the branch up into its mouth and ran in a large circle, honing in on Sky and streaking back towards Sky, lightning fast, dropping the branch at his feet.

It panted happily and backed up slowly, intense, excited eyes staring at the piece of wood as if daring it to move.

Obediently, Sky bent down to pick up the branch once more, grimacing a little at the saliva covered and slightly splintered wood in his hand. He straightened and lobbed it as far as he could, the dog taking off after it before it had even left his hand.

This time when it returned the dog looked up at the Skyloftian with a hint of mischief in its eyes, holding the stick, rather than dropping it.

Confused, Sky bent forwards reaching for the stick, but the small creature danced back, bounding out of his reach with a muffled yip.

Sky laughed and tried again.

The dog darted to one side and then back again, its entire back half wagging. Sky jogged forwards, reaching out again, but the dog evaded him again. It ran a few steps away and then bounded back and Sky finally understood.

‘Oh!’ He laughed. ‘You want me to _chase_ you?’

As if it understood his words, the dog _took off_ , its body unable to contain all of the happiness and excitement it felt at finding a new playmate.

Sky grinned and tried to follow, running as fast as he could through the long grass as the four legged animal did laps around him. The dog finally desperate to get its energy out of its system twirled around in several small, tight, circles, taunting and then bounded away when the very tips of Sky’s fingers brushed against its fur.

At the near miss, the dog skidded to a stop, eyes wide and crazy and then ran right at him.

Sky gave an amused exclamation and crouched with his arms extended, somehow timing it to perfectly scoop up the wiggling creature and bring it close to his chest, throwing his head back when it tried to lick as much of his face as it could reach.

‘Alright, alright.’ Sky laughed. ‘You win!’

Panting and laughing, he moved into the shade to sit next to Twilight who had been watching the game with a wide grin on his face.

Sky plopped down next to him, the dog he’d been playing with still held in his lap for a moment as he wrapped his arms around it and gave it one final hug.

Tired and satisfied but overheating from running, the dog flopped between the two heroes on the cool grass.

Twilight leaned over to look in the dog’s eyes.

'Did you have fun with Sky?’ He asked with a smile, reaching to pat one of its soft ears.

The dog stretched its front feet, trying to reach for his hand, it’s tail thumping the ground.

Overheating slightly himself, the Skyloftian reached forwards, tugging his boots and socks off and setting them neatly to one side, digging his toes into the soft, cool grass of the field next to the stable, giving out a soft, happy sigh.

O o O o O

Sky stared up at the fluffy white clouds in the blue sky above him, laying on his back in the long grass, breathing deeply through his nose. The head of the dog, eyes closed as it dozed, was on his stomach, his hand mindlessly smoothing the soft hair between its ears.

He sighed in satisfaction.

Twilight grinned and leaned back against the tree behind him, his legs stretched out in front of him.

Another stable dog had joined them, black and tan, more mellow than the one Sky had been playing with, the dog was content to simply lie stretched out on its side with its whole body pressed against the Rancher’s leg.

‘So… what do you think of dogs?’ Twilight prompted with a grin.

Sky turned his head languidly towards Twilight’s voice, staring up at him through long lashes. The Skyloftian was surrounded by soft, green grass and looked very relaxed, his eyes were already soft and unfocussed.

When he spoke it sounded like he was a million miles away.

‘I’m _very_ _much_ pro-dog.’ Sky mumbled emphatically.

Twilight bit his lip, his eyes crinkling at the corners in an attempt to stifle his sudden laughter at the strange answer from his friend. Clearly after an afternoon of exercise, the Skyloftian was already half-way towards a quick nap.

Oblivious, Sky’s vague, sleepy gaze drifted back up to the clouds, his hand never stilling as he slowly stroked the dog’s warm, velvety, ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sky needs to have the chance to play with all of the fluffy surface animals and Twi (possibly Wild) is the best one to introduce him to them!
> 
> Can you imagine a world without DOGS? Would it even be worth living in? One of my very favourite things in the whole WORLD is watching a dog with the zoomies, it is a simple pleasure, and I thought Sky deserved to see it. 
> 
> Also, I used to use random dogs I saw on my way into work as a measuring stick for if I was going to have a good day. If I saw 5 dogs on my way in, I would think to myself 'It was a 5 dog morning, so it's going to be a great day!' hahaha. 
> 
> AND, I had a bit of time to sit down and think about the last three prompts today, so I'm hoping I know what I might start writing about for each one when it's time to do that. 
> 
> WHICH MEANS, they should be out as originally planned. Which is awesome, because I want to get back to Wild Adventures and also that whump series I've been planning!


	26. Crime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been struggling with this chapter for literal days. 
> 
> I've tried to write maybe... 7 difference scenarios for this prompt before deciding that this was the direction I was going to go in. Every time I tried to think of something, my brain just filled with the sound of static and I had NOTHING. 
> 
> So, a HUGE thank you to Rewritethestars5218 for planting the seed for this one! Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have gotten anything out.

‘Stop, thief!’

Hyrule spun around in the crowded market of Warriors’ Castle Town at the shout to see if he could help, still chewing a mouthful of crusty bread and froze when he realised the accusing finger of the baker was pointing directly at _him_.

His eyes widened and he looked down at the bread in his hand, gasping in horrified understanding. He didn’t remember picking up the small loaf, didn't remember biting into it, he mustn’t have paid for it.

The trip into Castle Town had been impromptu, he and Warriors simply on a supply run to the market to replenish their potion ingredients while the others continued packing at a nearby inn.

After being in Warriors’ era for several days, the group had already been involved in a number of important campaigns which meant Hyrule had been using a _lot_ of magic, and, as Hyrule’s energy needs fluctuated wildly depending on the number and strength of the spells he'd cast, he had taken to eating everything he could get his hands on, easily eating three times the amount he normally needed.

He must have snagged the loaf, unthinking, as he walked by, his body subconsciously tempted by the fresh bread sitting on the baker's stand and taking it opportunistically to help him refuel.

‘Oh no! I’m so sorry!’ He gushed, his face flaming red when he realised he was now the centre of attention for the swarming crowds around him.

He ducked his head, fumbling for his rupee pouch, trying not to drop the bread, his hands shaking slightly with adrenaline and embarrassment.

‘How much do I owe you? I wasn’t thinking. I just…’

‘Here.’ Hyrule looked up to see Warriors handing the vendor a purple rupee, several herbs in his hands that he had just purchased from a merchant the next stall over. ‘I’m sorry, my friend can be a little absent-minded. I’m sure it was a simple misundersetanding. Right?’

Concerned blue eyes flicked in his direction and Hyrule nodded wordlessly, his appetite completely gone to be replaced by a sick, thick, guilty feeling.

‘I’m so sorry.’ He whispered both to Warriors and the baker

‘Captain Link!’ The vendor breathed, eyes darting between Hyrule and the dashing soldier, obviously making the connection that they were travelling together. ‘O-of course, it’s no problem. I didn’t realise he was with you, please, it’s no charge.’

The crowd began to whisper, the voices spreading like ripples through the curiously staring crowd as the villagers registered that the elusive Hero, the most famous celebrity of their land besides the Princess herself, was in the market-place.

Hyrule recognised with another, sharp stab of guilt that until now, Warriors had been trying to slip through the market unseen to avoid exactly this scenario. The soldier had even gone so far as to leave his trademark blue scarf at the inn they were staying at.

Hyrule felt burning at the back of his eyes, and looked down ashamed, he was painfully aware of the whispers, the eyes on him, knew what they must be saying.

How could a companion of Captain Link’s be caught stealing? Why would the the dashing, competent, brave, _good_ young man want to be seen with a person like _him_.

‘I’m sorry.’ Warriors said smoothly, shaking off the congratulating hands and praise, his eyes still fixed firmly on his friend. ‘We have only just gotten to town and need to report to the Princess, we have to be going.’

Several voices spoke at once, trying to push wares and congratulations onto the young hero, but he wove through the crowd effortlessly, politely declining and thanking them in turns, as always as charming and benevolent as they expected the Captain of their Royal Guard to be.

A hand touched Hyrule gently on the upper arm and he barely suppressed a flinch, his eyes flicked up to see Warriors looking down at him, a deep understanding in his gaze that made the burning feeling behind his eyes increase.

Hyrule again looked away.

The hand on his arm tightened slightly and the Traveller let his friend lead him away from the cacophony of voices, further from the main boulevard and down a narrow street.

Only once the dim light from the tall buildings overhead was sheltering them on all sides from prying eyes did Warriors stop and let go.

‘Are you ok?’ He asked softly, blue eyes impossibly deep.

‘I-I’m just...so sorry.’ Hyrule mumbled. ‘I … sometimes, I see food and I just…I don’t think, and I...’ He reached for his rupee pouch again, hands shaking slightly from fear, adrenaline, _shame_ , intending to pay his friend back for the bread, but a large, calloused hand on top of his stopped his jittery movements.

‘Roolie, it’s ok.’ Warriors said softly. ‘I understand.’

Hyrule halted his movements but didn’t look up.

There was a lump in his throat. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

He heard a regretful sigh and then a gentle hand was in his hair, ruffling his curls. Hesitantly he looked up into eyes burning with empathy.

‘ _It’s ok_.’ Warriors reiterated, obviously sincere. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘B-but I…’

‘ _Nothing_.’ Warriors interrupted firmly, he gestured at the bread. ‘These things? These people?’ he waved his hand back towards the bustling crowd behind him. 

‘These people were born, right here, in this town and have lived here forever, just like their parents and their grandparents. Despite our land being at war, their life has continued unchanged. They don’t know what it’s like to be hungry, or afraid, or even what it's like to sleep on anything besides their bed.’

He paused, smiled softly. ‘They can’t imagine what it’s like to be in a land where there aren’t markets open every day, bursting with food.’

His gaze was so kind Hyrule again felt his eyes begin to water but this time he didn't look away.

‘I would rather,' Warriors paused and rephrased his statement with a shake of his head. ' _All of us_ would rather that you eat when you need to, even absentmindedly and have to pay the odd vendor than have you worried you might do something wrong and go hungry.’

He shrugged one shoulder, his blonde hair fluttering.

‘All of the rules in our lands are different, we know that. The reason you’re hungry _now_ is because you’ve been fighting so hard for these people. Give yourself a little credit Roolie, you deserve it.'

He shook his head slightly in admiration. 'I've _never_ seen anyone cast as much magic as you can, as _fast_ as you can, and not fall over. If anyone deserves to eat something delicious it's you.’

His gaze flicked down towards the half-eaten bread, clutched, forgotten in Hyrule’s hands and then back up to his face. The Traveller was very pale and Warriors wasn't entirely sure it could be attributed to the shock of what had happened in the market place.

If Hyrule had taken the bread, especially if he'd taken it subconsciously, his body needed it.

With a sigh, he let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting on the cold cobblestones of the back street. Hyrule looked down, astonished to see the young man sitting on the dirty cobblestones of a back alley when he had seen gleaming public benches lining the promenade they’d just been walking along.

Warriors raised his eyebrows, patting the ground next to him in invitation.

Hyrule still feeling strange and out of sorts, sat; and Warriors snagged the bread from his hands, tore off a small piece and then shoved the rest back into the Traveller’s baffled grip.

Without looking at his friend, Warriors took a bite, chewing away for a moment in silence.

Hesitantly, Hyrule took his own bite, and then another, speeding up until he'd devoured the loaf in minutes.

‘Better?’ Warriors asked after a moment, squinting at the Traveller from the corner of his eye, only the barest hint of bright blue visible.

Hyrule nodded, already he felt less shaky, more in control of himself. A loud growl broke the silence and the Traveller hurriedly put his hands over his stomach, blushing again, apparently the bread had only whet his appetite.

Warriors hauled himself to his feet and held out a hand, helping Hyrule up.

‘Come on.’ He grinned. ‘I know a shop around the corner from the main square that’s famous for its pan fried bread. I’ve been meaning to get one of each type for Wild.’

Hyrule looked at him questioning and Warriors grinned back, unrepentant.

‘Say what you like about him, but that guy sure can recreate a recipe… and fried bread is one of the things I’ve missed most about my Hyrule.’ He raised a shoulder quickly, letting it fall again with a smirk.

'If we're going to go to the shop anyway, we may as well take advantage and get a few for ourselves? For research purposes?'

Hyrule smiled softly, able to see through the Captain's plan as easily as if it was made of glass. 

'Thanks, Wars.' He mumbled. 'For everything.' 

Warriors pulled him close for a moment before releasing him with a slight ruffling of his curls. 

'Thank _you_.' He breathed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't really like this one, but honestly, I'm just so glad to have something out that I don't even care. 
> 
> This prompt was not kind to me! 
> 
> Also, I know this is a bit late in the game, but please keep in mind that these fics aren't going to be polished or completely finished. No one else has read these. I'VE barely read them. It's inevitable that there are going to be issues in some of them, whether it be grammar or plot.
> 
> I'm sorry for that, but in my defense, it's called a challenge because it's challenging?
> 
> Also, I've fallen really far behind in my fic reading. Have you guys seen how many really good fics have been updated in the past few days?? I'm hoarding them up to read all at once. I feel like we're a bit spoiled in this fandom, and it's glorious! 
> 
> Lala <3


	27. Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so unsure about yesterday's chapter and a few of you said it was one of your favourites for the whole month. You guys continue to surprise me!
> 
> I've just been posting these and moving on each day, I barely remember what I wrote for some of the prompts, so I know this sounds weird, but I'm looking forward to reading these again in a month or two for the 'first time'.

As soon as they’d arrived at the fountain, Time had been absolutely swarmed by a cloud of tiny, glittering fairies.

He’d laughed, fondly, sounding pleased and held out an arm to greet them, watching with a soft eye as they’d landed on the outstretched limb.

‘Hello little ones.’ He’d murmured in a tone of voice usually reserved for Epona.

‘They’re burrowing into your hair.’ Wind said, baffled. ‘What are they doing?’

‘Are they? Time…I think… they’re _nesting_.’ Hyrule said with a laugh

Time nodded slightly, trying not to disturb the fairies, his expression was a little sheepish. ‘They always do this when I come to visit.’ He admitted.

‘What? _Why?_ ’ Wind laughed.

Time moved his head slowly to look at the youngest, but despite the care he took with the movement, several fairies became dislodged, rising to the air to float for a moment before readjusting and then landing in his blonde locks again.

‘Where I was raised, we had a very special relationship with our fairies…’

A fairy darted from his hair and zoomed in front of his face, interrupting him, the purple-pink glow lit up the left-side of his face as the fairy brushed against his cheek affectionately. He chuckled again, putting his hand up to his face, allowing the tiny creature to settle in the palm of his hand.

‘I don’t know how long fairies live, but after my journey, whenever I’ve visit a fairy fountain in my Hyrule, I get a welcome like…’ he spread his hands, gesturing at his hair, glowing neon purple with tiny fairies, claiming and burying in the strands.

‘…this.’

He laughed softly and slowly turned his head again, a few of the displaced creatures again taking a moment to settle on their moving platform.

‘I’ve wondered a few times if they’re the same fairies that helped me on my journeys, but I have no real way of knowing.’

Hyrule titled his head in thought. The Traveller had the most fairies nesting on him, besides Time himself.

‘Fairies live for a very, _very_ long time.’ He said quietly, the ghost of a smile on his face as he looked fondly down at one of the fairies that was hovering above his wrist. ‘At least, they do in my Hyrule. Hundreds of years.’

Time nodded, very slowly and gently as if that made sense. ‘I thought that might be the case, these fairies seem so familiar.’ He admitted. 

‘Do you think we'll be ok to stay here for the night?’ Wild asked, looking around the enclosed room curiously. Several fairies were playing with the long strands of his hair, braiding and twisting the strands as they wove in and out.

‘This is one of the safest places we can be in any Hyrule.’ Time grinned, looking younger than usual with his carefree smile and glowing, purple-pink, face. ‘I used to sleep here a lot during my adventure, there isn't even any need to set a guard for the night.’

A weak cheer went around the tired group and he laughed, the sudden sound sending several fairies into the air around him. One of the displaced fairies seemed to hesitate in the air for a moment before it zoomed suddenly over to Four. It flew laps around his temples for a moment before it bobbed mid-air, tinkling softly. Another two fairies streaked over, the short Smithy watching wide-eyed when they landed on the tips of his ears and his temples, leaning closer to his head.

The Smithy raised his eyebrows slightly and laughed in disbelief, putting soft fingertips to his forehead. The fairies that had been circling him zoomed away, back to Time, who was watching with a mischievous smile.

‘What was that about?’ Warriors asked curiously.

Four shrugged. ‘I had a bit of a headache. I didn’t know fairies could heal that.’

Time shrugged, forearms on his knees. ‘Normally they can’t.’ He agreed, looking at the clouds of glittering fairies fondly. ‘But this many is a different story.’

He stretched his arms over his head. ‘You boys aren’t going to believe how well you sleep tonight.’ He rumbled as if already imagining the deep, dreamless, sleep that was so rare for the group.

Wild, Warriors and Legend, the three who struggled most with sleep exchanged dubious glances.

Time noticed. ‘You’ll see.’ He promised.

He turned to Wild. 'Do you have anything sweet in your slate we can give them? Fairies love sugar and I normally bring them something when I visit.' 

Legend scoffed suddenly, several fairies clinging to the pink strands of his hair and attached to the shiny gems on his rings. He looked like he was wearing a glowing halo and matching accessories, but none of them missed the careful way he was moving so as not to disturb the small creatures.

'So you bribe them? That's why they love you so much, Old man?'

Time rumbled a laugh. 'Maybe you're right... but in any case, I can't disappoint them.' 

Wild brought several plates of fresh honey from his slate, setting them on the ground and laughed when he was instantly swarmed. 

'Woah, ok! There's enough for everyone!' Wild exclaimed. 

Time stood smoothly. 'I'll put a couple of plates at the front of the fountain.' Wild swiped on his slate again, bringing out a few more plates and handing them to the eldest. 

He walked away from the group, down the familiar, dark, hallway to the pinprick of light that was the entrance to the fairy fountain. As he walked down the narrow corridor, several fairies landed on the plates he was carrying, stealing a couple of sips of the rich honey and flying away.

He settled the plates down at the front of the fountain and leaned up against the side of the doorway looking out into the calm forest and taking a moment to really appreciate what he was looking at. 

The trees around the fountain had grown significantly since he had last visited, the path now overgrown and half-hidden under long-grass and dead leaves. While they had been inside the fountain, a light drizzle of rain had started, covering the whole area with mist and making it look mysterious and magical.

Several fairies began to appear from the undergrowth, attracted to the dishes of honey.

He greeted them with a warm smile and watched for several minutes as the fairies dipped and flew in and around the dishes and then came up to bob in front of him, bobbing and tinkling their thanks.

Finally, when the dishes were clean, Time bent to pick them back up making his way silently down the corridor back towards the fountain a cloud of fairies trailing behind him.

He stopped suddenly in the doorway, feeling a number of small bumps against the back of his tunic as several distracted fairies ran into him.

All of the boys were already deeply, _soundly_ , asleep, their relaxed faces illuminated gently by the hundreds of fairies in the fountain, drifting off before they had even eaten.

Normally, due to a combination of memories and nightmares one or two members of the group were always awake. Even when they did manage to drift off, the heroes did not sleep well, often tossing and turning, waking up even more exhausted than when they went to bed. Eventually, they were so exhausted they would simply fall into a restless sleep, too tired to dream.

Wild and Sky were curled up relatively close together. The Skyloftian, always unconsciously cuddly in sleep, had one hand curled under his chin, the other stretched out, his fingers loosely holding onto the sleeve of Wild’s tunic. The Champion was curled on his side, breathing deeply and evenly, he was completely out cold several fairies nesting in the strands of his hair. 

It appeared that, for the first time, the chronically exhausted Wild had actually managed to drift off before their resident sleepy-head Sky, the older draping his sailcloth over both of them from shoulder to waist. Time smiled softly when he realised the vast majority of the material was covering the younger man.

Warriors, who could be just as cuddly as Sky, had pulled Wind close, his arms wrapped almost entirely around his waist, using the smaller teen’s chest as a pillow. Wind was on his back, hands thrown over his head, breathing softly, several fairies were buzzing around his left wrist and Time frowned softly at the sight. The young pirate had broken the limb in a fight with some wolfos only a few days before and had convinced them that the red potion he’d been fed by a frowning Sky had fixed it all up. From the way the fairies were hovering, it looked like the wrist had continued to hurt after all. 

Hyrule was also lying on his back, one arm hanging over his stomach. The small cloud of fairies that had been nesting in his own unruly curls since they entered the cave seemed to have unconsciously attracted both Legend and Four, the two heroes lying on either side of him. Time allowed himself a fond grin when he realised a fairy was playing with Four’s minish earring, lifting and dropping the light feather as the hero slept unawares. Legend seemed to have claimed Hyrule’s other arm, the Veteran, always so wary about touch, had pulled his successor’s hand close, holding it in both of his own.

Twilight was breathing softly, his eyes softly closed and mouth slightly open. The tip of one sharp, white, canine visible behind his top lip, snuggled into a warm blanket that Time recognised as belonging to Warriors.

All of the young men were _covered_ in glowing fairies.

Time sighed in relief to see them sleeping so peacefully for a change and sank down to sit next to to Twilight, his eyes lingering on his softly sleeping protege for a moment.

‘Thank you.’ He whispered to the fairies, his barely audible voice a little thick with emotion. He felt the warmth of the tiny fairies shifting in his hair as he settled down himself. ‘ _Thank you_ for looking after my boys.’

He drifted off quickly, knowing they were safe, the soft pink light of the fairies illuminating and protecting the group, healing their aches and minor injuries as they slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I just had a cursed thought... you know how sometimes people accidentally swallow flies? Do you think... that's ever happened with a fairy?) 
> 
> I really don't know if I've just been doing this too long, but this is another one I just can't like. The last two days the prompts just haven't really spoken much to me? BUT for what it's worth, I'm already a little more excited about tomorrow's chapter which is sure to be one of the longer ones. 
> 
> I think I saw something on Tumblr about this, but can't remember where it was. In my mind, the difference between whump and angst is some hurt/comfort and a happy ending... does that sound right?
> 
> See you all tomorrow!


	28. Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I popped on here early this morning to try and answer some questions in the comments section that I've been neglecting and fully intended to spend the whole day writing this. 
> 
> And then I was called in to work from 9am-5:45pm to fill a shift... BUT, as I was working, I was thinking about this fic... trying to write bits and pieces in my head in down time. 
> 
> I just couldn't let today pass without posting something. 
> 
> I really, really, really hope you like this last chapter, even though it's a little rushed because, apparently the universe hates fanfics and doesn't see writing one as a productive use of my day?

‘Urgh…’ Twilight breathed, a hand to his forehead. He sat slowly, so dizzy from the sudden drop that he staggered when he carefully stood. ‘Is everyone alright?’

Seven affirmative answers, all a little dazed came back to him.

‘That was an unexpectedly rough drop...’ Sky mumbled, dusting off the back of his pants.

Time looked around with a ladle still clutched in his hand, their pot of nearly finished soup was assumedly still bubbling away in a forest clearing in Wind’s Hyrule.

Warriors gave a low sigh of resignation when he realised dinner would need to be started all over again.

‘Where... _are_ we?’ Wind asked, confusion pulling at his brow.

'Guys…?’ Four’s voice came from just beyond the tree-line where they’d landed. ‘You should probably see this.’

They stumbled out from the trees, still trying to find their balance, and faltered, falling silent. No one spoke for a long, long moment.

They were on top of some kind of small cliff, overlooking a grassy field that went as far as the eye could see.

A strange tower stood in the middle-distance. It looked impossibly tall, vaguely organic and glowed just slightly blue and small group of wild horses were grazing near a stack of rotting wood that had obviously once been a building.

But, perhaps most notably, despite being able to see far, _far_ into the distance, there was no evidence of another living Hylian. The world looked as if it had been completely reclaimed by nature, with moss growing on crumbling rock and plants breaking apart buildings. 

‘Is this… a new Hyrule?’ Hyrule asked, breathless. 

'It must be...' Legend agreed.

'But it's been weeks since we picked up Four...' Twilight mumbled, confused.

'It's _enormous_.' Warriors added with a hushed whisper. 

Wind pulled out his telescope and began surveying the horizon for something he recognised, a landmark that would help orient them.

He cleared his throat uncertainly. ‘I think I see th-the castle.’ He said quietly, tone strange. ‘But…’ he stopped, biting his lip.

‘But what?’ Twilight asked.

‘It…’ Wind swallowed, eye still on the telescope. ‘It looks… _damaged_.’

Everyone froze.

A gust of sudden wind blew the grass around them and brought the smell of wildflowers.

Wind held the telescope towards Time who took it and put it against his good eye. After a long moment, he passed the telescope wordlessly to Twilight who took a look for himself.

It was unmistakably Hyrule castle, but its normal, ethereal, silhouette was broken and crumbling. There was an enormous hole in one side of the roof where something very large appeared to have broken out of the solid stone.

Twilight passed the telescope to his left where Legend was standing. The pink-haired man gave a low gasp of shock and then swore, unable to tear his eyes away from the castle ruins.

‘What do you think happened?’ The Rancher asked, unable to suppress the dread in his voice. 

Time shook his head, eye clouded and dark. ‘I don't know, but the castle is the only thing we recognise, so that's where we should start searching.’ He uncrossed his arms. ‘It looks like we are here to find a new hero.’

O o O o O

‘This place is huge.’ Sky mumbled, dragging his feet slightly, his normally friendly face was puckered with tiredness.

‘ _Tell_ me about it.’ Four replied, the short teen dragging at the back of the group next to the Skyloftian. ‘How much further, Time?’

The unofficial leader looked back at them, seeming a little baffled himself at the sheer distance of the land they were attempting to traverse. He looked up at the sky and frowned, calculating how much daylight they had left.

They had nearly reached the large blue tower they’d seen from the top of the cliff, but somehow the castle seemed just as far away as it had been when they started. 

‘Let’s just get to the base of that tower and see if it gives us any clues, we can camp there for the night.’

They crested the last small hill they'd been climbing and weary cheers rang through the group when they realised they'd made it. Up close, they finally realised how impossibly tall the tower was. It was wrapped in something that could have just as easily have been wood or metal and was humming slightly with a mysterious power.

The Captain, at the front of the group with Time and Twilight, stumbled to a halt and stared in front of him, bemused.

‘What is _that_?’

A spiderlike creature was patrolling a few dozen meters to their left, it moved with a strange mechanical precision and had a strange eye that was swinging wildly, glowing the same, cool, blue as the tower. Looking over the field, they could see that there were another three of the strange creatures behind it, whirring and clanking as each patrolled its own territory.

‘Do you think it’s... friendly?’ Sky asked doubtfully.

Legend gave a long-suffering sigh. ‘I _very_ much doubt it.’ He reached into his bag and selected his fire-rod. ‘But. There are eight of us and only four of those things, I think we can handle it.’

An exhaled breath of relief ran through the group at his words and each of the heroes reached for their preferred weapons.

‘You’re right.’ Four grinned. ‘Let’s take this one out together to see if it has any tricks we need to know about, and then we can split up for the rest?’

Warriors laughed, giving a couple of test swings of his sword, shield equipped and ready. ‘That's a decent strategy, Smithy.’

‘Alright.’ Time said, readying the Biggeron blade. ‘Let’s try to get a little closer so we can see what we're dealing with.’ He lifted his weapon and the sunlight caught the flat of the blade sending a flash of light right at the creature.

The mechanical beast stopped in its tracks with a strange whirring sound. Its spinning blue eye twisted to face them and turned red, locking on with a dull clanging noise.

The group froze.

‘Uh…’ Sky said, confused. ‘It can’t see us from that distance can it?’ He clutched the Master Sword in both hands looking suddenly unsure.

A red beam locked onto the centre of the group and the machine began to skitter towards them at a terrifying rate.

'What the fuck?!' Legend swore, startled, Hyrule let out an audible gasp, the others falling into battle stances as the creature began to omit an ominous beeping that speed up and intensified as it approached. 

‘Look out!’ Twilight pushed Wind out of the way just as the creature unleashed a blast. The entire hillside they'd been standing on exploded into flame, throwing the heroes to all sides.

Twilight screamed in surprised pain, desperately trying to put out the flames that covered his arm.

Hyrule, Wind and Time rolled to their feet and rushed to his side, the others gathered in front of them, holding their shields out to guard their friends from the creature's beam.

The wound was bad, the beam had cut worryingly deep for such a superficial glancing shot and the heat of the weapon had cauterised the wound, resulting in second degree burns that were already starting to blister. Hyrule gasped and fumbled for a red potion, forcing it into Twilight’s mouth. 

The panicked shouting of the others caught their attention and they spun to face the creature, only just aware of the beeping that was intensifying near them. Four and Legend were firing arrows as fast as they could, but the hard metal tips appeared to have no affect whatsoever, glancing off the hard shell of the beast, Warriors and Sky were chopping at it from behind, desperately trying to either stop or distract it from getting any closer.

But there was nothing they could do.

Hyrule, standing in the dead, burned, grass of the first blast looked at the others with dread in his eyes, the same red beam of light from before was now shining on his chest.

With a startled gasp, Twilight pushed Wind and Hyrule behind him, feeling Time try to do the same to him.

There was a flash as the thing fired, a hiss, a clang and then an explosion.

A moment passed and then the small group looked up to see two things. The first was that the spiderlike creature was now a smoking pile of twisted metal and smoke, and the second was the blue-clad back of a young man with long blond hair scraped back into a low pony-tail. His stance solid and strong, and he held a shield on one arm, a curved, jewelled, scimitar in his other hand.

He looked over his shoulder at the huddled group, his scimitar disappearing in a flurry of blue strings, an elegant silver and black bow appearing in its place.

‘Stay here.’ The young man said urgently. ‘The sound will have brought the others.’

Twilight managed to get a brief impression of the bluest pair of eyes he’d ever seen. A silver scar. And then the young man was gone, sprinting towards the remaining spider-creatures that were now scrambling towards them.

‘Move!’ The teen yelled desperately at Warriors, Four, Sky and Legend who were still trying to do what they could to distract and stop the progress of the machines.

One of the red eyes turned to focus on Sky who had just lopped off one of its legs with the Master Sword, leaving it unbalanced for only a moment before it correct itself. The machine made another dull, clanking, sound and fixed a red beam on him.

The young man sprinted, flinging himself between the hero and the machine just as it unleashed its beam.

With a cry, the young man shoved the Chosen Hero roughly out of the way and swung his arm, up and out, as hard as he could, somehow catching the beam and flinging it back into the eye of the machine.

Sky fell to his knees with a startled gasp, the Master Sword clutched tightly in his hand, the residual heat of the blast taking his breath away and searing his skin.

Two beams were targeting the newcomer now as more machines scrambled within range but he stood stock still, tense, his electric-blue eyes fierce and focused.

The beam fired at the exact same time the young man did a backflip and then, too fast for their eyes to follow, he _blurred_.

They could only discern a rapid twanging and a grunted battle cry and then he landed, crouched with his knees pressed lightly against the ground, a strange, glowing, blue arrow with a swirled tip sat against the string of his bow, nocked and ready.

With a jolt, Time realised that there was already an arrow sticking out of the eyes of each of the three remaining creatures.

The machines let out a low hissing of releasing steam followed by a dull clanking, stumbling on their tendril-like feet. And then, without further warning, the three spiders exploded as one, setting the field around them ablaze.

There was a long, long moment of silence as the young man surveyed their surroundings with narrowed eyes, waiting to see if the commotion would bring more enemies.

Finally, he slung his bow over his shoulder and stood smoothly, turning to look at them.

The group, used to working together now, had huddled closer again, surrounding the injured Twilight.

One of the newcomer's sideburns was still smoldering, evidence of his close proximity to the explosions, he had a streak of machine oil along his right cheek bone and his beige undershirt was ripped on the forearm.

He stood staring at them, the scars on his face appearing almost silver in the strange red light of the grass fires that surrounded him, machine parts littered the floor around his feet.

‘Are you all ok?’ He asked, his voice surprisingly soft and gentle. ‘It’s lucky I was up on the tower, what were you _doing_ this close to the castle?’

There was a long moment of silence before Wind let out an explosive gust of air and then voiced what everyone was thinking.

‘What the _fuck_ were those things!?’

The new man blinked, surprised. ‘Guardians.’

‘And what the actual _fuck_ is a ‘Guardians’??’

‘Wind. Language.’ Time said wearily out of habit. He reached down to pull Twilight to his feet, the Ordonian clutching the damaged limb to his chest protectively, wide, blue, eyes on the young man in front of them.

The archer noticed the graze on Twilight’s arm and winced in sympathy, he reached for a strange slate on his hip and began to tap on it with his index finger, obviously looking for something.

‘Thank you for helping us.’ Time said quietly. ‘Can I ask your name?’

There was a dull flash of blue light and suddenly the young man in front of them was holding a jar of honey, he handed it to a surprised looking Twilight.

‘Rub some of this on your arm.’ He instructed quietly. ‘It’s antibacterial and will help with the pain.’

Finally, the long-haired teen placed his hands on his hips, confusion and wariness warring on his features as he surveyed the group. ‘I’m Link.’

Legend let out a humourless laugh that he stifled quickly. ‘Of _course_ you are.’

Link looked at him in confusion, but didn’t reply and Time gave another weary sigh.

‘Is there somewhere safe we can set up camp for the night? The least we can do after your help is cook you a hot meal.’

O o O o O

Wild, as he had been dubbed, led the others directly to a small thicket and stood, his back pressed against a tree as he watched them set up camp for the night. 

He still seemed wary, expression unreadable and arms folded, but they weren't sure if his uncertainty was due to the size of the group, or something else.

From what they had seen of this Link’s Hyrule, there were very few people living in it.

The others, still stunned by their introduction to this new, violent, Hyrule were happy to let him observe for now, each of them lost in their own thoughts. If it hadn’t been for Wild, they weren't sure that they all would have escaped from the Guardians with their lives.

It was a sobering thought.

‘Oh no!’ Wind’s forlorn voice finally broke the silence. He held up his bag, one side of it charred from the Guardian’s beam. He looked apologetically at Time and then the others, finally settling on Wild.

‘I’m so sorry… our food burned up. We can’t make a meal for you.’

The mood in the clearing plummeted. They were in desperate need of a meal and a good rest.

To their surprise, Wild uncrossed his arms and pulled his strange slate from his hip, he gestured at the cooking pot and looked at Time, apparently seeking permission.

Eyebrow up towards his hairline, Time had shaken his head and moved quickly to the side, allowing the other to take his place.

They watched him crouch next to the pot and then begin to scroll through his strange slate.

‘Y…you… can you cook?’ Four asked, unable to entirely suppress the hope in his voice.

Wild blinked, and made a so-so motion with his hand and Four sighed, apparently disappointed.

‘How about seafood risotto?’ Wild asked quietly. The others perked up, and some of the hope returned to Four. 

‘...that sounds... really good.’ Sky answered finally for everyone.

Wild gave a single nod.

‘How are you doing that?’ Legend asked after watching the Champion pull ingredients from his slate, curious enough that his snarkiness was barely detectable. ‘It doesn’t feel like magic.’

Wild paused for a moment and then began chopping with alarming speed, shaking his head in disagreement.

‘It’s not magic. It’s Sheikah Technology.’ He answered simply with a shrug of one shoulder.

He threw chopped onions into the cooking pot, followed by some garlic and a handful of crushed amaranth. A delicious and savoury smell began to fill the clearing and the others moved forwards as if drawn by the smell, seating themselves in a rough semi-circle around Wild and watching him cook.

He added a generous dab of butter and some Hylian rice, stirring away and then added his seafood, and stock. He shot a look around at the group of wearied travellers before reaching into his slate again and uncorking a bottle of something that looked like wine, adding a generous splash. He stirred and then sat back.

‘It will be done when the rice is ready.’ He said quietly. He shot another look at the Master Sword, now sheathed and leaning up against Sky’s knee. ‘How did you get that?’

Sky blinked, confused.

‘I only _just_ came back from putting that in the Lost Woods.’

Everyone in the clearing froze, all eyes suddenly on Sky.

Sky licked his lips, suddenly unsure of the implications of that one sentence. Time was the unofficial leader of their group, but deferred anything to do with the Master Sword to Sky.

‘You just put it… _back_?’

Wild nodded and stirred the rice in the pot. ‘When I defeated Calamity Ganon, after taking Zelda to Kakariko to see Impa. I took the blade back to the Woods.’

Abruptly, the unexplained gap in time between the rest of the group joining and recruiting their newest hero began to make sense. Sky and Time exchanged glances, the Old Man suddenly looked very tired.

‘W-when… was this?’ Sky hedged, not sure he wanted to know.

Wild’s face dropped slightly. He looked haunted, exhausted.

‘It's been nearly a week since I defeated Calamity Ganon. Four days since I replaced the blade.’

‘ _Sweet Hylia_.’ Legend breathed in horror.

Time ran a hand down his face. How dare she? How _dare_ she? This young man had only _just_ accomplished his Goddess given task, had obviously had no time to breathe, to stop, to _rest,_ and _already_ she was pulling him back to fight her battles.

The eldest drew a deep, steadying, breath and opened his eye. A quick look around the camp site proved that he was not the only one who was angry, on the contrary, Warriors, Legend, Twilight and even Hyrule looked positively livid.

Wind and Four simply looked lost, as if they were unsure, or too numb to know what they were supposed to be feeling, but Sky looked deeply troubled, his eyes were closed and the Master Sword in his hands was glowing slightly, showing he was communicating with Fi.

After a long moment, the Chosen Hero opened his eyes and fixed them on Wild, who was absently stirring the rice unaware of the conflict his comment has caused.

‘Fi seems a lot older here, her power it’s… more limited. She said to tell you she’s sorry she let you down. She knows why you don't trust her.’

Wild’s head shot up so fast he was a blur of motion. His eyes glazed in a sudden memory.

_The Master Sword clenched in his hand, chipped and blunted from the countless hits he'd taken. The blue glow had long since faded, leaving only a well-balanced hunk of metal in his hand._

_Zelda._

_Crying._

_Screams._

_A sharp, hot, pain that went right through him, again and again. The sword wouldn’t react to his pleading._

_He was alone. Desperate._

_He had to protect Zelda._

_The sword that sealed the darkness was nothing but a sword._

_He had failed._

_He was not worthy._

_Somehow, he stood again, a buzzing, whirring sound filled his ears, red light filled his vision. He was dizzy and so disoriented._

_A shove, a light._

_Pain._

_Darkness._

‘She said you would know what that meant.’

Unconsciously, Wild’s hand went up to the scars on his face, eyes glazed and haunted. He nodded slowly.

With a shuddering, gasping breath, he blinked back to reality and reached for the spoon, giving the risotto an unnecessarily hard stir. Rice slopped over the lip of the pot and landed with a hiss in the fire below.

The others exchanged glances, their hearts aching for the young man.

He cleared his throat. ‘I-it’s ready.’

One by one, he accepted their bowls, filled them to the brim with steaming, creamy, risotto and handed them back. Finally, he settled back and took a bite of his own nodding slightly in satisfaction.

Not his best, but not bad.

‘OH MY FUCKING GODDESS-ES-ES!’

Wild’s head shot up again to see Wind staring at him in total astonishment. The young pirate’s mouth was open and a half-chewed bite of seafood risotto was visible.

Wild grimaced. 

The others began tasting their food, and delighted gasps filled the clearing.

‘This is amazing!’

‘He can _cook_!?’

'Sweet Hylia! What is this?'

‘Fuck! This is even better than Malon’s!’

‘Now, now, wait a second...let's not jump to conclusions...’

Wild blushed, and rubbed the back of his hair with his hand.

‘This is so good!’ Hyrule said, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering. ‘Can you make other things?’

Wild shrugged one shoulder awkwardly, he looked into his bowl, confused by their enthusiasm. ‘It’s just a simple seafood risotto. It’s really not that great.’

A gleeful silence greeted his comment as the others realised what it meant.

If this amazing masterpiece was to Wild, only a _simple_ risotto. They had finally, _finally_ , found a cook.

‘Sweet fucking Hylia.’ Wind whispered, still staring into his bowl.

Sky opened his mouth, eyebrows low and obviously about to say something about his swearing, but a grinning Legend beat him to it.

‘Wind, would you _please_ watch your fucking _language_?’

‘Oh, fuck! I’m sorry!’

‘You fucking should be!’

Sky ran a dismayed hand down his face and shoved another bite of risotto in his mouth, visibly checking out from the conversation and choosing to focus his energy on eating his dinner. 

The two laughed at their small victory, joined unexpectedly by Four, and then Warriors.

Wild felt the edges of his mouth turn up as he watched them interact.

They were an eclectic group, but there was something about them the Champion thought he might be able to get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops metaphorical pencil and stares at it*
> 
> I'm done. DONE. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's taken time out of their lives to read my little ficlets day after day. 
> 
> At times this has been so fun and inspiring and I've gotten some amazing ideas from doing this challenge that I fully intend to explore and exploit. At other times I've regretted putting this pressure on myself and cursed the day I decided to do this. Honestly, you guys and your sweetly supportive comments and ideas have kept me going. I can't thank you enough! 
> 
> In 28 days I've written over 55k words and I'm honestly really, really proud of myself for seeing this through. 
> 
> I'm going to take a break from this site tomorrow and then I'll pop back on and will start to answer some of the questions I've been neglecting over the past few weeks. 
> 
> I'll keep plugging away on the little surprises I've been working on, but am going to take. my. sweet. time. 
> 
> I love you guys.  
> Lala <3


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